The Learning Process
by JenRar
Summary: Ranger must go out of town to fix a problem with another office. He and Stephanie spend time on the phone learning about each other. Stephanie trains with the guys while he's gone, and he surprises her when he returns. Warning: Lemony goodness!
1. Chapter 1: Realizations

_Disclaimer: JE owns them. I do not. Disclaimer applies to the entire story._

~oooOOOooo~

**The Learning Process**

~oOo~

**Chapter 1: Realizations  
Stephanie's POV**

Why in the hell was I dreaming about mosquitoes? After nearly five minutes of buzzing, I realized it was the stupid alarm clock, not the small bothersome bugs I'd thought. I reached over, picked it up in one hand, and threw it across the room. From under lowered lashes, I watched in satisfaction as it as hit the wall with a crash and fell to the floor in tiny little pieces.

I stumbled out of bed and into the shower, lathering up with the Bvlgari body wash that reminded me of Ranger. I'd asked Ella to buy some for me the last time I was staying at RangeMan. Now, every month, I get a few new bottles mysteriously delivered to my bathroom. I never questioned the Bvlgari gods—I just thanked my lucky stars.

After changing into a T-shirt and jeans, I headed into the kitchen to a freshly brewed pot of coffee and a bag of donuts from the Tasty Pastry. Ranger might have thought my donut obsession was disgusting and unhealthy, but he also knew if I didn't get my sugar fix in the mornings, I got _very_ cranky at night!

I finished my breakfast standing over the sink, grabbed the keys to my car, and headed to the bonds office. As usual, my bank balance was low, so I needed work. Hopefully, there'd been some FTAs overnight. When I pulled up to the curb in front of the building, I noticed Ranger's Cayenne already there and my heart flipped a little.

I walked in and saw that Vinnie's door was closed.

"Morning, Connie. Lula."

They both looked at me, their eyes wide.

"Close your mouths, geez! I practically need to wipe the drool off your chins... I take it Ranger's in with Vinnie?"

They nodded, both looking a bit sheepish as they closed their mouths.

"Skinny-ass white girl! Why aren't you all hot and bothered? You and Super Cop been over for months now. Shouldn't Ranger be in your bed by now?" Lula asked.

My eyes fluttered over to Vinnie's door and I said, "Yes, well, he hasn't made a move yet. I don't know if he still wants me like he did since I'm not a prize he can win anymore." I shrugged. "If he wants me, he knows where he can find me. I'm certainly not stopping him."

We heard a thump from inside Vinnie's office, and Connie put her fingers to her lips. She quickly pulled open all her drawers and looked under the base of the light on her desk. Finding what she'd been after, she held it up. In her fingers was a tiny bug, obviously planted by Vinnie.

I blushed, knowing Ranger had heard what I'd said. I put my finger to my lips and mouthed silently, "On the count of three, scream into the mic."

When I got to three, we all screamed directly into the mic. Vinnie's high-pitched scream filled the office. Lula and I collapsed onto the couch in a fit of giggles.

Two minutes later, Vinnie's door opened and Ranger sauntered out, looking cool, calm, and collected. The other two immediately stopped giggling, and even though I tried, I couldn't stop another few from slipping past my lips.

He walked purposefully over to me and bent down, pushing a curl behind my ear. "Babe, can I see you outside?" His voice was low and seductive—but that could have just been what I wanted to hear.

I nodded silently, gave a finger wave to Connie, told Lula I'd pick her up later so we could catch the skips Connie had given me, and then followed Ranger outside.

He immediately pulled me to the car and tossed my folders into the open window before pushing me up against the side of the vehicle. His hands roamed over my face, down my arms, and to my waist. He pulled me tight against him before his lips crashed into mine. We kissed for several minutes, our tongues dancing, until he finally broke away.

"Feels a bit different, now that it isn't poaching," he said quietly.

"D-Different how?" I stuttered. "Bad different, or good different?"

"Definitely not bad," he admitted. "I gotta go, Babe. Lots of work today. Call if you run into any trouble." He nodded at the folders in the car. "Want me to bring dinner over tonight? Can catch a movie at your place."

I nodded, still breathless. "That'd be good. See you then, Batman."

His eyes smoldered as he looked down at my lips, and then he tore his gaze away and gave me a half smile before walking away toward his SUV. Before I could move, he was gone.

Miraculously, Lula and I ended up getting all three of my FTAs without rolling in garbage once. By six o'clock, I'd gotten them all rebonded, visited my parents' house to say hello, and had even had a chance to shower away the day's grime. Afterwards, I changed into little shorts and a red tank top before Ranger came in with dinner.

When he knocked on the door at twenty after six, I opened it to find his hands full. He had a salad for him, a pizza with almost everything for me, and a six-pack of Corona for us both. I took two beers into the living room. After putting the rest in the fridge, he brought in the food, grabbing napkins for us both and a fork for himself on his way out of the kitchen. We settled onto the couch and I picked up the remote.

"What's the the movie tonight?" he asked.

"I debated between _Ghostbusters_, again, and _Gone in Sixty Seconds_. I realized I wanted something we hadn't seen in a while. So, Nic Cage, here I come. You can watch for Angelina Jolie," I said, grinning.

I watched his eyes darken as he looked at me and said, "She's not my type."

I swallowed hard and pressed play, effectively cutting off that line of conversation. I wasn't ready for that yet, and I didn't think he was, either.

We spent the next two hours laughing and watching the movie together, quoting the best lines. A quarter of the way through the movie, he had turned onto his side, and I was spooned in front of him. His fingers were tracing lazy circles on my stomach, having moved under the bottom of my tank top. Every time he laughed, his warm breath caressed my ear.

I'm not sure I even saw the last few minutes of the movie, I was so wrapped up in the sensations that were Ranger. By the time the credits rolled, I realized that over the last few months, I had fallen in love with the man pressed against me. Now, the question was... What was I going to do about it?


	2. Chapter 2: Problems

**Chapter 2: Problems  
Ranger's POV**

It was the middle of the night, but I was still in my office, catching up on paperwork and remembering last night—the night I had spent watching a movie with Steph. We'd ended up lying on the couch, Steph in front of me...her perfect little ass pressed tight against my front. So many times, I'd wanted to pull aside her shorts and panties and thrust myself inside her. I'd had to keep reminding myself that I wanted her to come to me—to let me, as well as herself, know that she and the cop were over for good. It had been a torturous few months since they'd broken up, but in the end, I knew it would be worth it.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by the ringing of the telephone.

"Yo."

"Boss, this is Binkie in the control room. You have a call on line three."

"Thanks," I replied before hanging up the phone.

I cleared thoughts of last night from my head, picked up the handset, and hit the button for line three.

"This is Ricardo Manoso," I answered, using what Steph called my "Office Ranger" voice. Normally, the only people that called at this time of night were the government or something to do with the business. If it had been family, Binkie would have said so.

"Ranger, this is Stephen, from Boston. We have a serious problem."

The computer systems guy at RangeMan Boston. "It couldn't have waited until you were at the office tomorrow?" I inquired.

"Unfortunately, no. Do you have time to talk? This isn't going to be an easy conversation and most likely won't be short, either," he replied quietly.

_Whatever it was couldn't be that bad, could it?_ I thought, before voicing aloud, "I have time. Continue."

"About six months ago, I began feeling like something strange was going on with some of the files. It didn't seem like much, so I told myself I'd just keep an eye on it and would give you a heads-up if anything changed. I know you've heard by now about the client that went out with Harper two nights ago, the one who was shot and killed. I thought that seemed a bit odd because there was no need for them to be in that area of town, so I took another look at the files. Something is seriously screwed up. It looks like the books are off by nearly a million dollars. I'm not a bookkeeper or a CPA, but I think it's something that needs to be looked into. Since Harper is the one in charge up here, after what happened, I figured it was time to call you."

I wasn't sure if he'd taken a single breath during his whole speech. It was almost like he thought I was going to interrupt and laugh or something.

"You did the right thing coming to me directly with this," I assured him, already pulling out my calendar. "Sounds like this is something I need to take care of in person. I have a meeting here tomorrow that I can't reschedule, so it looks like I can be up in Boston late Thursday night. Give me your cell number and I'll call you when I know my flight information. You can meet me at the airport with my car, and I'll drive you back so we can talk before getting to the office."

He rattled off his digits, said he'd talk to me on Thursday, and then hung up.

Even though it was the middle of the night, I immediately called in Tank, Bobby, Lester, and Hal. "I need you in my office ASAP. Can't wait," I told each of them.

Within three minutes, everyone was assembled. They were dressed in everything from shorts and sweats for Tank, Lester, and Hal, to full RangeMan gear as Bobby came in from the control room.

"Boss, I pulled Junior out of the break room and have him in the control room covering for me. What's going on?" Bobby asked, looking around at the others.

I spent the next several minutes explaining about the phone call from Stephen about the situation in Boston. "So it looks like Thursday night, I'll catch a flight there. I have no idea how long this will take. Most likely, I'll be able to clear it up in a month or so, but who knows what I'll find when I get there. Usual orders. Tank, you're in charge, Bobby behind him. Lester and Hal, you're on Steph duty. She doesn't need twenty-four hour supervision, but keep her on your radar and listen for any problems. Be sure to check in with her to see if she needs any help with skips. Questions?"

We spent the next hour working out details, and then everyone headed to where they needed to be. It was only four in the morning, but I headed to Stephanie's apartment, needing to be with her. My meeting didn't start until early afternoon, so I had plenty of time.

On my way over, I called the bonds office to leave a message for Connie. "Connie, this is Ranger. I have an emergency in Boston. I'll be leaving tomorrow afternoon sometime. Stephanie is taking tomorrow off, but should be in on Friday morning. My guys will cover her skips tomorrow and then will be in every day for the RangeMan files. I'll call Vinnie and tell the dick myself about my plans. Thanks. Keep an eye on Steph and Lula, and call Tank if you need him."

Hanging up the phone, I called Vinnie's private office number to leave him a voice mail. I didn't bother with any pleasantries. "Vinnie. Ranger. I'm out of town on an emergency starting now. Will likely take a month. Stephanie is off work tomorrow, but will be back on Friday. My guys will take her files tomorrow and all the RangeMan files until I get back. Connie knows how to get ahold of me if necessary." Then I hung up.

Pulling into Steph's parking lot, I was suddenly exhausted. I wanted nothing more than to curl up and fall asleep while I watched Steph sleep. I made my way quietly up the stairs, letting myself into her apartment. After slipping out of my boots, I shuffled into her bedroom, sinking down into the chair beside her bed.

Three hours later, I jerked awake when Steph's alarm went off. She fumbled for it and peeked out one eye when I reached over to turn it off, noticing that it looked brand new.

"Ranger?" Her voice was muffled and sounded sleepy. "How long have you been here?"

"About three hours, Babe. Long night. Have to go to Boston later today, but wanted to spend some time with you first. You're officially off work today, and I don't have to be anywhere until after lunch."

"Come here, Batman," Steph said, pointing to the empty space in front of her. "Let's get some more sleep. You look like hell."

Setting the alarm on my watch, I took off my pants and T-shirt. After pulling on the boxers Steph kept in her dresser for me, I climbed up in bed beside her and wrapped her up in my arms. Within minutes, her breathing evened out and she was asleep again. I closed my eyes immediately after, letting Stephanie's scent lull me to sleep.

At ten thirty, my watch beeped, causing both of us to stir. I sat up a bit and began to play with Steph's curls, tugging them to rest behind her ear. "Steph, we need to talk," I said quietly.

She nodded and sat up carefully, staying in my arms as much as possible. "Tell me."

I grinned. That was definitely my Babe.

"I was working on paperwork at the office early this morning when I got a phone call. It was my computer guy in Boston. He began noticing problems with some files a few months ago, but decided to keep an eye on it. When Harper, the guy in charge up there, took a client into the wrong area of town two days ago, the client was killed."

I looked at Steph and saw her watching me with wide eyes.

"It was deemed gang-related and it's an open case, but after the phone call...I just don't know. Stephen, the computer guy, decided it was suspicious. He looked into the file issues more and figured out last night that there's over a million dollars missing from the Boston accounts. I have to go up there late today and will most likely be up there for a month. I'm going to have to dig through accounts and look into backgrounds of various people. It's probably going to get ugly. The core team has been appraised of the situation, but apart from them and Stephen, you're the only one who knows." I didn't even have to ask her to keep it to herself. I knew she would without me asking, and if I brought it up, it would seem insulting to our friendship. "I called Vinnie and made arrangements for the two of us to be off today..."

My voice trailed off, suddenly weary and tired of it all.

She scooted closer to me, so I tightened my hold on her.

"I have a meeting at one thirty with a prospective new client. I'd love to have you go with me...maybe get a feel for them, see what you think. I trust your instincts about people as much or more than I trust myself."

She looked at me with amazement and nodded. "Sure, I can do that."

"Good. Want to do lunch on seven? We can relax there until the meeting."

Giving me the 'Burg glare, she asked, "No bark and twigs?"

Laughing, I shook my head. "I'm sure Ella will bring you whatever you'd like, Babe."

She smiled. "Sounds good, Ranger."

She started to climb off the bed, but I stopped her with a hand on her arm.

"Babe, would you mind driving me to the airport after? We can take the Cayenne." I knew she loved driving it, even if she was afraid of it being destroyed. "You can leave your car at RangeMan and pick it up when you drop the Cayenne off after."

Her smile this time was dazzling. "I can do that," she said, bouncing off the bed to grab a change of clothes.

Once she'd closed the door to the bathroom, I leaned down to grab my shirt from the floor and let my hand drift down to my rapidly hardening dick. She had no idea of the effect she had on me, especially jumping up like she had. My black T-shirt she always wore to bed rode up high, exposing most of her thong-covered ass.

I groaned and closed my eyes, beginning to stroke my cock. I imagined her small hand under mine, stroking me until I reached my full length. I was so hard and ready that I knew it wouldn't take much for me to come.

My hand moved up and down my shaft, feeling every vein and bump under my fingers. Precome was already leaking from my tip, and I used a finger to spread as much as I could over my cock to lubricate myself. I could hear the water running as Steph took her shower. My cocked surged into a whole new level of rigidity as I pictured her wet, naked body in the steamy room. I felt my balls tighten and my cock jerked as I came all over my shirt. I cleaned myself up as best I could and then sat, relaxed, and waited for Steph to finish in the shower.

~oOo~

After a delicious lunch of pasta with chicken and veggies, we'd spent a couple of hours relaxing and talking until the meeting, which had just finished. Steph had been invaluably observant, staying for a few minutes after with the rest of the core team to point out a few things that none of us had thought of. That got me thinking, and I realized that while I was gone, I needed to evaluate a possible place on the team for Steph. With her instincts, I had no doubt she would make a terrific asset.

I called Stephen in Boston to let him know when I'd be arriving there and said goodbye to the guys before Steph and I headed out.

When we arrived at the airport, I drove around back, telling Steph how to get back out once I'd gone. I parked the car and got out, going around to help Steph out of the passenger seat. I noticed a sad look on her face and pulled her close to me.

"It's only a month, Babe, and remember, I'm not heading into a war zone. I'm perfectly safe. Call Tank and the guys if you have any issues. I plan on talking to you a lot on the phone, okay?" I tugged her hair gently before tucking it behind her ear. "I'll miss you, Stephanie."

She sighed. "I'll miss you too, Ranger. Promise you'll call soon?"

I nodded. "I'll call you tonight to tell you about the flight and what I find out today, okay?"

When she nodded, I touched my lips to hers. The kiss was sweet and innocent, with a bit of heat, just to let her know I was going to miss her terribly.

I handed her the keys and grabbed my bag. Without looking back, I boarded the plane. Once seated, I watched her out the window as we taxied away and she became too small to see. Then I let out a small sigh and pulled out the papers Stephen had faxed to me so I could study them before hitting Boston.


	3. Chapter 3: The First Phone Call

**Chapter 3: The First Phone Call  
Ranger's POV**

I finally made my way up to my apartment at eleven o'clock. The flight to Boston had been quick, but I'd gone straight to work when I arrived. This was the first time I'd even been upstairs. Dinner had consisted of a salad brought down to me by Marisol, Boston's version of Ella. I'd eaten at my desk, not even pausing my work.

Setting my bag down on the bed, I pulled off my clothes, grabbed the phone, and was dialing Steph's number even as I slid between the sheets.

She picked up on the third ring. "Ranger?"

"Babe," I answered, smiling to myself. I instantly felt the day's tension leaving my body. I drew the sheet up higher and settled in.

"How was your flight? How's Boston? Have you learned anything yet?" Her mouth was moving a mile a minute.

"Flight was good. I used it to go over the file some more. Boston's good. The city is beautiful, as usual. The office looks good, too. Marisol, Boston's Ella, spent a lot of time fixing it up. I might have her come to Trenton and do the office there." I chuckled at the thought and then instantly sobered. "As for learning anything yet, I feel like I've just taken the first step in a twenty-six mile marathon. There's so much to go over. I'm probably going to bring in a forensic accountant. Will see what happens after that. How was your evening?"

"Boring. I grabbed Pino's on the way home and had a quiet night in—ate a meatball sub and watched _I, Robot_ and _Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle_ on TV. I've been in bed reading and waiting for your call since."

I laughed. "Did you gawk at Will Smith?" I teased. She'd told me before that he was one of her favorites.

"Oh hush!" she said, giggling. "I had an idea tonight while lying in bed waiting to hear from you, Ranger. I don't know if you'll be interested, but I thought it might be fun. Just tell me if you—"

I cut her off. "Steph, just spill it. I'm sure I'll be fine with whatever it is you thought of."

"Oh, um, well," she mumbled, "I thought maybe we could start a game of Twenty, or more, Questions. Play a little bit every time we talk."

I winced. As much as I hated sharing personal information, I knew it was share or grow apart time.

"I think that's a great idea, Babe. I can't promise I'll be able to answer every question, but I can promise to answer every question I'm legally able to."

"I understand, Ranger. I'd never ask you to betray any confidential information you have; I hope you know that."

"I do, Babe. So I'm assuming you've had time to figure out some questions for me?" I laughed, knowing she probably had a notebook full already.

"Just a couple," she said slyly. "Since I've given you no time to prepare, if you want, you can copy my questions if you're interested in learning the same thing about me. I'll go first. Question one: When's your birthday?"

"I'm two months older than you, to the day. Going with the birthday theme, what's your favorite birthday present you've ever received?" I asked her.

"Easy. My grandma gave me a ring that was her grandmother's. She herself was given the ring on her sixteenth birthday, and when I turned sixteen, she gave it to me. I don't wear it except on very special occasions. The rest of the time, it's in the safe at my parents' house. I doubt it's extremely valuable money-wise, but the sentimental value is too high to leave it sitting in my apartment, what with all the crazies and danger I seem to attract."

I smirked at that. She was definitely a danger magnet, my Babe. "You're turn," I told her.

"How many brothers and sisters do you have? Tell me names, ages, birth order, and all the other important info," she ordered.

"Carmella is oldest at thirty-nine. She and her husband, Ramon, are both professors at the University of Miami. They have two girls—Yelena, seven, and Estelle, four." I smiled, thinking of my nieces. "Juan is next at thirty-seven. He's a Marine and is married to Paloma. She stays at home with their son, Angelo, who is two."

"Wow, a Marine? So you went Army instead of following along in your brother's footsteps?" she asked, smirking.

"Yes, well, have you ever known me to follow the norm?" I grinned. "Next up is Celia, an ER attending. She's married to Andres, a children's book author, and they have twin boys, Elian and Jordan, age three. I'm next, and then Marisa is the baby, at twenty-four. She just graduated from college a year ago after taking a couple of years off to work in the Peace Corps. She's now in law school at NYU."

"Wow, so a professor, a Marine, a doctor, an Army Ranger, and a soon-to-be lawyer. Your parents must be so proud!"

"My mom is, yes. My father died when I was seventeen. He was career military, in the Army, and died on a mission."

"Oh, Ranger," she said, her quiet voice breaking. "That's why you went Army, isn't it?"

"The day I turned eighteen. It's okay, Steph. It's been a long time and I've dealt with it. I have a lot of fond memories. I still miss him, especially when it comes to family gatherings, but I know he'd be proud, for the most part, of the man I've become."

We talked for another hour about my family. I told Steph about my mother and grandmother, as well as our family Thanksgiving and Christmas get-togethers. I mentioned that I wanted her to come with me this year to dinner on Thanksgiving, if she could miss dinner with her family.

"Only if you'll come with me to Christmas dinner at mine," she said playfully.

"If I must," I sighed, teasing her. "Can you keep your grandma from molesting me?"

"No promises." She followed her words with a very audible yawn.

"Get some sleep, Babe. We'll talk tomorrow night. Call you at ten, okay?"

"Okay, Ranger. Good luck tomorrow. Sleep well." Her voice was slurring by the end, so I knew she had to be exhausted.

"You, too, Steph. Goodnight." I hung up the phone, feeling at peace for the first time since saying goodbye to her at the airport.

I snapped off the light, and before I could even begin to think of tomorrow's schedule, I fell asleep with thoughts of Stephanie dancing through my head.


	4. Chapter 4: Steph Becomes a Target

**Chapter 4: Steph Becomes a Target  
Two Weeks Later  
Ranger's POV**

I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes. It had been a long two weeks and nothing I'd learned would take me back home to Trenton anytime soon. It was only one in the afternoon, but I'd already been working today for nine hours.

Thinking back on all the time since I'd left Trenton, my most enjoyable moments were those in my nightly conversations with Steph. She'd been slowly working her way past my emotional defenses over the last year, and for the last two weeks, I'd begun opening up to her when she asked me questions.

The phone on my desk rang, breaking me out of my reverie. "Yo."

"Boss," Lester's voice said, sounding a bit frantic. "You said to call if anything happened to—"

"Is she okay?" I asked, my voice deadly calm.

"She's fine. Everyone is fine. Her apartment, on the other hand, is a crispy critter. Seems like an old skip took offense at her bringing him back into the system. When he got released from jail a few days ago, he thought it would be a good idea to firebomb her apartment. He snuck up the fire escape, broke the bedroom window, and lobbed it into the bedroom around five this morning. Luckily, Bomber—uh, Stephanie had fallen asleep on the couch, so she was able to grab Rex and her gun and leave through the front door. She heard a car peeling away when she got out the door, so the guy was long gone by the time she got away from the building. She knocked on doors as she went down, getting everyone else out safely."

"How do we know who did it?" I asked quietly.

"No one said the guy was bright. The fucking idiot left her a note on the car. Didn't sign it, but his fingerprints were all over it. He's gone underground, but the TPD and RangeMan are looking for him."

"What'd the note say?"

I tried breathing deeply, but I was still seeing red. I knew it wasn't the fault of any of my guys; however, right now, Lester was an easy target, and I was trying my damnedest not to take it out on him.

"I don't have it in front of me. Basically, it said he'd missed the birth of his child and the death of his mother because he got sent to jail, so he's going to make Steph pay," Lester said cautiously.

"Fuck. Okay, two of you on her at all times until he's caught. Where is she now?"

"Her parents' house."

"I'll call over there and speak to her myself. Keep me updated. There's no way I can come home right now, so hopefully I can get her to see reason and move onto seven until he's caught."

"Yeah, good luck with that, Boss." He was laughing to himself as he hung up the phone.

I dialed Steph's parents' house, and she picked up the phone herself. "Hello?"

"Babe," I said softly.

"Hi, Ranger," she replied, her voice cracking. "You heard?"

"Yeah, Babe, I did. You okay?"

Okay, so it was kind of a stupid question. Of course she wasn't all right. But what else do you say in that instance?

"Better now," she said, sounding a bit off. "Thank you for calling to check on me."

"I just heard, Steph, or I would've called sooner. I can't leave here right now. Some more things came up in my investigation today that I'll tell you about tonight. Otherwise, you know I'd be there. I have faith in my guys, though. Babe, would you do something for me, please? I'm not going to force you, but for my sake, at least consider it."

"What, Ranger? Just ask."

"Would you move into RangeMan until the guy is caught? You can stay in an empty apartment on four or move into seven for the time being."

I crossed my fingers that she would choose seven. I loved the thought of going home and knowing she'd been there every day and night.

"Let me think about it for a while today and I'll call you later, okay?"

"Sure thing, Babe. Just give me a call when you decide. Meanwhile, Lester and Hal will be parked outside your parents' house for now and will follow you whenever you need to go out."

"Thanks, Batman. I appreciate it."

"No problem, Babe. Call me," I said.

"I will," she answered before hanging up.

I laughed when I realized she'd stolen my move.

I grabbed two waters from the little fridge by my desk and called Stephen into my office. Tossing him a bottle, I took a drink myself before asking, "Made any progress on what I asked you this morning?"

"Yeah, Ranger. Unfortunately, you were correct. Looks like Harper was having an affair with Christoph's wife. The entire time we were wooing him as a perspective client for RangeMan, Harper was exchanging phone calls and emails with Janice, the wife. Hacking into the email accounts I've been able to find doesn't show any arrangements for Harper to set up Christoph's death. They do show evidence of the affair, however."

"Okay, keep digging. I'll keep asking around on my end, as well. Thanks, man."

He acknowledged my comment with a nod before leaving the office.

Three hours later, I was going through _more_ paperwork when my cell phone rang. Without looking, I knew it was Steph because of the _Wonder Woman_ theme song. "Evening, Babe."

"Batman answering the phone in something other than yo? Shocker!" She laughed loudly, sounding extremely pleased.

"You like that, Babe?" I smiled to myself. It was good to hear her sounding more normal and relaxed than she had earlier.

"You know I do, Ranger. I was calling to make _sure_ it was okay if I stay at RangeMan until freakazoid is caught."

"Steph, you never have to ask that. Anything I can possibly give you is yours if you need it," I told her quietly.

There was a quiet pause until she finally said, "Okay, then, I'll call Lester in from outside and ask him to take me there now. Thanks, Ranger."

I swallowed hard before responding. "No need for thanks, Babe. As long as you're safe, nothing else matters. There are some clothes on seven for you, since I'm assuming everything else is gone. Ask Ella for anything else you need. And Steph..." My voice broke. "Babe, please be careful. I can't lose you."

We sat there in silence for a minute before she said, "I will be—and you won't. Call me tonight so we can talk about the latest from Boston?"

"Same time. I'll call Tank and get the number for wherever you decide to stay."

"Call seven, Carlos. That's where I'll be." She was quiet for a minute before finally saying, "Bye, Batman."

I hung up without saying anything, too stunned at her use of my given name to do anything else.


	5. Chapter 5: Another Phone Call

**Chapter 5: Another Phone Call...  
Ranger's POV**

At ten o'clock, I settled into my routine. For the past two weeks at this time, I'd spent every night like this—nestled under the covers with only a single lamp on as I dialed the phone. It was the closest I could get right now to actually being next to Steph, and there was nothing that would make me miss these phone calls. Especially after what I'd learned today about the fuck that could have killed her.

"Hi, Ranger," she said when she answered the phone.

"Hi, Babe. Are you all settled in there? How are you feeling?"

"Yes, Ella and Les made sure I was all set." She sighed. "I'm okay. Still a bit shaken up, but being wrapped up in the blankets on your bed makes me feel safe. Knowing all the big, strong men are downstairs to protect me helps a little bit, too," she said, giggling.

I was glad to hear her so relaxed and laughing. "You never disappoint, Babe. I'm glad you're in such good spirits. Besides the fire at your apartment, how was your day?"

"It was okay. Didn't get anything accomplished during the morning. Although, I did have lunch with my parents at noon, and then there was a lot of action in the afternoon, as you know already. My mother took offense that I wasn't going to stay with them...until Tank explained that if the guy found out I was staying there, they could all be in danger, as well. That shut her up pretty quickly."

"I'm sure it did," I said, chuckling. "Morelli upset?"

"I don't know, honestly. I think he's out of town. It's a good thing, because if he'd shown up while the Merry Men were there, I think he'd have stumps where his limbs used to be after they ripped him to shreds."

She paused a minute and then said, "Okay, moving to a different topic. How are things in Boston?"

I sighed, something I found myself doing more and more since being up here without my Babe. "I learned some not-so-nice things today. Turns out Harper is having an affair with Christoph's wife, Janice. They've been emailing back and forth for at least six months, and phone records show they've been conversing for nearly as long. Stephen hasn't been able to find any evidence showing they set up Christoph's murder, but he's still looking."

"Oh, Ranger, I'm sorry. I know that can't be good news. What's the plan now?"

"I'm going to go down with a couple of guys to Mission Hill—Boston's 'Stark Street'—tomorrow and see if we can find any witnesses to what happened or anyone with any intel on a possible hit."

"Won't that be dangerous?" she asked, sounding worried.

"I'll be wearing a vest and will take every precaution I can, Babe. Everything'll be fine." I tried to sound soothing. "Now, can we play some more?"

She sighed. "Sure. Let me get my list of questions." I heard papers rustling in the background, and then she came back on the line. "I have several quick questions and then a longer one. Have you ever worn braces?"

"No, have you?"

"Yes, when I was twelve. Can you whistle?"

"Yes, very well. I know you can. I hear you every time you get in the shower. What's the other question?" I asked her.

"Did you play any sports as a kid?"

"I grew up playing soccer. All the kids in the family did. We played with friends at school and around the neighborhood, but we had a league, too. I alternated between goalie and forward. I was forward because of my speed and goalie because I was—" I paused, lowering my voice suggestively "—good with my hands."

She laughed. "Well, at least that's something you haven't grown out of."

"Damn straight," I told her. "I know you haven't played any sports. So let's see. What's your favorite childhood memory?"

"You've heard the story," she said. "The day I tried to fly off the garage roof. Sure, I broke my arm, but for a few seconds, I was weightless and it was amazing."

We stayed on the phone for another two hours, trading childhood stories back and forth until we were both so tired we could barely speak.

"I gotta go, Ranger," Steph sighed. "I can barely keep my eyes open."

"Me, too, Babe. Dream of me tonight."

"Always. Goodnight," she whispered.

"Goodnight, Steph."

I hung up the phone and spent a few minutes thinking of Stephanie before finally succumbing to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6: Making Changes

**Chapter 6: Making Changes  
One Week Later  
Stephanie's POV**

I let out a big sigh before flipping through the files for the third time in the last ten minutes.

"Steph, you're full of nervous energy, aren't you?" Tank asked.

"I can't help it. I've been having so much more fun picking up skips with you and Les. I don't end up rolling in garbage or blowing up a vehicle. I'm just not looking forward to it when this ends."

"Who says it has to end?" Tank's voice was suddenly serious.

Curious, I asked, "What do you mean?"

"Steph, you're very good at what you do."

I started to interrupt, but he held up his hand in warning.

"I'm serious. You are, for the most part, untrained and self-taught. I know Ranger's talked to you about this. Your success rate is a one hundred percent capture... That's incredible, especially for someone with so little training. If you were to train and learn some tricks and tips, think about how fantastic you would be. There wouldn't be nearly as much garbage to deal with. The vehicles blowing up...I'm not sure you can control."

Rolling my eyes, I waited as he laughed.

"Sometimes you just seem to attract the crazies, and training won't help that much, but seriously, with training and your gut instinct, you'd be unstoppable. You could be a serious help at RangeMan then, as well. You're already a big help, you know that, but with training, you could help on jobs you can't do right now. I know Ranger would appreciate that, but even more, I know he would love to see you learning how to keep yourself safe better."

Tank rambled on for a few more minutes until I finally interrupted him. "Okay, big guy, slow down. You've made your point. I've got lots to think about, okay?" I smiled to let him know I wasn't upset. "I appreciate the concern, and thank you for the compliments. Give me some time to think about it."

We spent the next few hours bringing in all five of our skips, and since I wasn't covered in garbage, I was able to enjoy lunch at Shorty's. We headed back to RangeMan, and I spent the rest of the day working on searches, finally calling it quits at six thirty to head up to seven and grab dinner while I waited for Ranger to call.

A few days later, Lester was my partner for surveillance. An hour or so into our six-hour shift, he turned his head to glance at me. "Hey, Beautiful?"

"Yeah, Les?"

He cleared his throat before continuing. "Tank mentioned he talked to you the other day about training. I was wondering if you'd given it any thought yet or if you had any questions I might be able to answer."

"I have, actually, and yes, I do."

He smiled, waiting for me to continue.

"I'm ready to get better at my job. That means training. So yes, I guess I'm ready for training."

I saw him nod before he said, "That's great, Steph. We were both really hoping you'd say that, but we weren't going to push."

"As for questions, I do have a few. Who would train me? What all do you guys think I need training on?"

"The who is easy, Beautiful. All of us at RangeMan love you and want you safe. As long as you'd be okay with it, none of us would want you to go elsewhere for training when we're all ready, willing, and more than able to help you ourselves. That way, we know what you're learning and know you're learning the correct way."

"That would be great. I love you guys too and am comfortable around almost everyone now. Thanks, Les."

"As for what you need training on, Tank and I talked about that the night you and he talked. There are a handful of things. Self-defense is one of the biggest. Hand-to-hand combat is involved, but there are also some very important things, like learning how to get away when someone attacks you—how to break holds, how to dodge attacks, that kind of thing."

I nodded, pulling out my notebook and a pen to take notes.

He smiled and continued. "Another important thing, and one I know you won't want to do, is learning more about your gun. You need to practice carrying it—loaded, of course—firing, cleaning, all of those things, until it becomes second nature. Hopefully, all the other training you'll have, along with your natural instincts and gut-feelings, will allow you to keep the gun put away. Unfortunately, that isn't always possible. You need to be fully trained and comfortable with it so you not only know how to use it, but will feel _comfortable_ using it if you need to."

"Ugh, I was afraid of that." I cringed. I really, really hated carrying my gun, but I knew it was just a fact of life in this line of work that sometimes, it came in handy. "Okay, fine, what next?"

"Umm, not sure I want to be the one to tell you this," he mumbled.

"C'mon, out with it, Lester Santos," I growled.

"Steph, you're a gorgeous woman. You know that, right?" He actually blushed when he said it.

I grinned. "Thanks, Les. Now spill."

"What happens when a skip gets away from you and starts running down the sidewalk?"

"I usually spend an hour chasing him. Why?" I asked before the light bulb went off above my head. "Oh." I sighed.

"Yeah. Why have to do that? Why not get in better shape physically so if they do get away from you, you can outrun them and grab them before they get far at all? It isn't that you aren't skinny enough, believe me. It's just that you have no endurance. Running daily will help with that. Add in some other physical workouts, and you'll be more toned, which will help with takedowns. You'll be unstoppable."

I sighed, knowing he was right. "Okay, but I'm not cutting out sugar."

Laughing, he shook his head. "That's another benefit. Exercise like you should be, and Ranger will have a lot less to fuss about when you have a couple of donuts in the morning or dessert after dinner."

"Bonus!" I grinned. "Okay, seriously, give me a few days to think over all this. I know it's something I really need to do, but I think I want a few more days of my quiet, peaceful, lazy existence before plunging headlong in to the RangeMan mentality. Also, talk to Tank. Neither of you mention this to Ranger, okay? When I'm ready, I want to tell him myself."

"Sure, Steph. Works for me."

He glanced at the clock. We'd both been keeping our eyes open for the guy we were watching for, but neither of us had paid attention to the time.

"Hey, you just sat still and worked for over an hour! I didn't know you could do that!"

I laughed and reached over to punch his arm lightly.

Grabbed his shoulder, he pretended to flinch. "Ouch!"

"Oh hush, you big baby," I said, laughing. "Thanks, Les. You're a great friend. I hope you and Tank both realize how much you mean to me."

"No more than you mean to both of us, Beautiful. Now, how about we play Twenty Questions while we watch?" At my look, he grinned. "Truth or Dare? Spin the Bottle?"

I punched him again, and this time, he did wince.

Laughing, he said, "Okay, okay, you choose how we spend our time while we watch for the next few hours."

I reached over to flip on the radio and then opened my notebook again. Out the corner of my eye, I saw Lester smile as I began studying the notes I'd taken while he talked earlier. Good. I was glad I could make him happy. Hopefully, Ranger would take the news just as well when I talked to him about it all.

~oOo~

It'd been two weeks since my apartment went up in flames. If you'd asked me a few weeks ago how I would feel about that, I'd have told you extremely upset and unhappy. But now? After two weeks of the most comfortable sheets I'd ever slept on, the best food brought to me any time I simply asked, and the brothers that would do anything for me at my beck and call? I was simply happy. Not content yet—that wouldn't happen until Ranger was home—but happy.

Tank and Lester had been rotating over the last couple of weeks on partner duty. I really loved having them as my partner when I went after skips or when I was helping out with surveillance. They were so vastly different. Tank was much more like Ranger—quiet and reserved—but I could get him talking and laughing, unlike Ranger. Lester, on the other hand, was almost the opposite. He loved to talk and laugh, even during surveillance, and he was an incomparable flirt. While Ranger was smoldering desire, Lester...he flamed with continuous lust.

Each of them had spent time with me talking about my future. It started last week with Tank while we picked up skips. Then a few days later, Lester had me cornered while on surveillance. I'd spent the last week thinking over everything we'd talked about, and I'd finally made the decision when I came home covered in foam after a skip had sprayed the fire extinguisher at me. I was ready to do this, and honestly, it couldn't happen fast enough.

That night, I told Ranger on the phone when we talked. After hearing the latest about Boston, I said casually, "So, I've been thinking..."

"Careful, Babe. Don't want to burn up all your brain cells," he teased.

"Oh, stuff it." I laughed. "Seriously. I think it's time for a change in my life."

I could almost feel the shift in his personality. If he'd been standing in front of me, his blank face would've slammed into place.

"Ranger, don't worry. This is a good thing! I've been talking to Tank and Lester," I said.

There was suddenly a lot less tension over the air.

"I talked to both of them about my lack of training. I realized it was time for me to get more serious about my job. I'm good at it, I know that, but I also know I could be better. I'm tired of you bleeding money so often because of me. I'm tired of being the laughingstock down at the police station. I'm tired of my mother's rants because I've once again come home covered in garbage. I just need a change."

"Not a bad idea, Babe. Go on," he encouraged.

"The guys offered to train me on everything I need to learn. We specifically talked about self-defense, learning to use and carry my gun, and exercising daily, including running. I know there'll be more things I want to learn, such as lock-picking and stuff, but those were the big ones. You've been a good influence on me. You make me want to be a better person, and this is my way of achieving just that."

He was quiet for so long that I asked in a small voice, "Carlos?"

After he'd taken a deep breath, he whispered, "Proud of you, Babe."

I smiled softly to myself. I'd never get tired of hearing that from him. _I love you so much,_ I thought, scared to voice it aloud. Hopefully, someday I'd be able to say it out loud to him.

We spent the next two hours just talking. I learned more about him in those two hours than I'd learned in the few years since I'd known him. When we hung up the phone, I went to sleep with a smile on my face that I knew would still be there when I woke up in the morning.


	7. Chapter 7: And Another

**Chapter 7: And Another...  
Ranger's POV**

Christ... If things didn't start looking up soon, I wasn't sure I'd ever make it home to Trenton. I dropped my gear inside the apartment door and glanced at my watch. Nearly eleven already. I was almost an hour late calling Steph. There weren't any messages on my cell, but as I walked over to the answering machine in the bedroom, I noticed one missed call. I pressed play and then pulled off my clothes and dropped them in the hamper in the bathroom as I listened.

"Hi, Ranger. I was just calling to say hello. I know you won't get this until later. I just wanted you to know I was thinking about you and can't wait to talk to you tonight. I'll talk to you then. Bye, Batman."

I sighed. I desperately needed a shower, but I didn't want Steph to think I'd forgotten about her. I grabbed the phone and hit the speed dial for the apartment. When she answered with a groggy hello, I said quietly, "Hey, Babe. I'm so sorry I'm calling so late. I just wanted you to know I need to jump in the shower before getting into bed. I'll call you back then, okay?"

"Ranger, you sound exhausted. Did you even stop working long enough to have dinner earlier?" Steph asked, sounding concerned.

"No, but that's okay. I can wait until breakfast."

"Carlos Manoso, take a shower and grab something to eat before you call me back. Promise me," she demanded.

"Yes, ma'am. Call you back in fifteen," I said before hanging up, grinning to myself.

I took a quick shower, eager to get rid of the stench and feel of Mission Hill.

Five minutes later, I was in the kitchen, pulling open the fridge to find a turkey sandwich and some veggies on a plate. Marisol had obviously made an appearance earlier, knowing I'd need something to eat. I grabbed the plate and a bottle of water and went to the counter. Grabbing a pen and paper, I wrote her a quick note of thanks, stuck it to the fridge, and then headed into the bedroom.

Like every night for the past three weeks, I climbed under the sheet and dialed the phone.

She didn't even bother to say hello. It was just, "Did you get some food?"

I laughed. "Turkey sandwich and veggies, Babe."

"Mmm, good. Can't have you chasing down the bad guys when you're weak with hunger, now can we?"

"Babe," I groaned. She was being silly and we both knew it.

"Can you tell me about things up there while you eat, Batman?"

"Of course," I said after swallowing the bite of sandwich I'd been chewing. "The forensic accountant and I met for most of the morning and afternoon with Stephen and Jax, the man who'll most likely be moving into the top spot here in Boston when I leave."

I took another bite and finished chewing before continuing. "When Stephen did his quick estimate a few weeks ago, he was off by over a million dollars. The accountant found nearly two and a half million dollars that's gone missing in the last five years.

"One of the guys here got word from a snitch late this afternoon that there were rumors floating around about the RangeMan leader being 'dirty.' So tonight, I went with a group of the men to the Hill. We spent nearly four hours pushing our way through the mess down there. It took us two hours just to find the snitch and another hour to get him to trust us enough to talk. We got the information we needed, though, so hopefully we're on the right track. It doesn't look good. We don't know any details yet, but the rumor's definitely leaning toward Harper and Janice Harris going in together to kill her husband."

I finished my sandwich and veggies and set the plate on the table before scooting down more in the bed. "Harper's currently in jail on embezzlement charges. If we can find enough evidence to give to the police, they'll charge him and Harris with her husband's murder."

"Wow, sounds like you had a full day today. I hope you're able to get more on the two of them for the murder. That's so sad. How anyone can do that to the person they are supposed to love..."

Her voice trailed off, and we were both silent for several minutes before she cleared her voice. "So, I've been thinking."

When Steph said she thought it was time for a change in her life, I felt my heart jump into my throat. I immediately froze. My emotions shut down and my blank face slid into place, even though I knew she couldn't see it.

When she continued, I relaxed at the mention of my two most trusted men. After all, if it were something bad, I'd have been alerted. I shook my head to clear it and tuned back in to what Steph was saying.

I thought about stopping her after her comment about bleeding money for her. I'd always told her there was no price, and I meant it. She was worth much more to me than any amount of money I had to give to keep her safe and take care of her.

I tuned back in to hear, "I'm tired of being the laughingstock down at the police station. I'm tired of my mother's rants because I've once again come home covered in garbage. I just need a change."

"Not a bad idea, Babe. Go on."

She explained about all the training she was going to be doing, and for the most part, it was for the right reasons. I closed my eyes, giving a quick prayer of thanks for Stephanie realizing the things she could do to help keep herself safe.

I guess I'd taken too long to respond because soon, I heard her ask quietly, "Carlos?"

I took a deep breath and whispered, "Proud of you, Babe."

I knew right then and there that I was truly falling in love with her. Her spirit, her strength, her heart. Everything about her.

"Now, do you have some more questions for me?"

She laughed. "I do, actually. First, have you ever been head over heels in love with someone?"

My heart stopped. Now wasn't the time to tell her. I wanted to be able to look her in the eyes when I told her how I felt about her.

Instead, I thought back to my junior year of high school. "I have, yes. My freshman year of high school, I started dating a girl named Deanna. About a year after we started dating, I realized I'd fallen in love with her. By our junior year, we'd started making plans for after our high school graduation the next year. When my father died and I decided to join the Army, she got extremely upset with my decision, and rather than try to work it out, she flushed almost three years of a nearly perfect relationship down the drain and broke it off with me.

"She never said goodbye when I left, never wrote back when I sent her letters. A year after I joined, I got a letter back from her father saying she was married now and had a son. My heart had been broken when she left, but when I read his letter, I felt like my spirit had been crushed, as well."

Steph was quiet for so long that I wondered if she'd hung up. "Babe?"

"Oh, Ranger!" she said quietly. "I'm so sorry."

"Babe, it's okay. It was a long time ago. I found peace with it finally and moved on."

_About the same time I found you_, I thought to myself.

"What about Rachel?" Steph sounded unsure as she asked me about the mother of my little girl.

"You know Rachel was meant to be a fun night on leave that turned into a permanent sort of relationship when she ended up pregnant with Julie. I was never in love with her. I love her because she's my daughter's mother, but nothing beyond that," I told her honestly. "Now, there's my question for you. Have _you_ ever been in love?"

She paused a minute before saying, "No, I don't believe I have. I never really even loved the Dick. I loved Joe—I always will—but I was never in love with him."

There was something in the way she said her answer that made me hope she was hiding something from me about her feelings for me.

"Mmm, okay," I responded.

"Next question!" she said cheerfully after regaining her composure. "When and how did you lose your virginity?"

I laughed. "Sophomore year of high school with Deanna. It was a cliché. After the homecoming dance, at her house, while her parents were out."

She giggled. "Never knew you were one to go in for the obvious." There was a pause before she spoke again. "Guess I don't need to remind you of how I lost mine," she said with a groan.

"No, you don't." My voice was suddenly serious. "Every time I think about it, I could happily hunt down Morelli and pound his ass into the ground."

"It was a long time ago, Batman, but thank you for riding to my rescue." Her voice was low and husky.

"Anytime, Babe," I answered.

She yawned and the noise triggered one of my own. "I think that's our cue to go to sleep," I told her.

"I suppose. I enjoyed our conversation tonight, Ranger. Thank you for being so open and honest with me. I know you don't really like to share personal stuff like that."

"Anything for you, Stephanie. I mean it. I..." My voice trailed off. "I hope you know I'll do anything for you."

"I do, Ranger. I know that. Sleep well and be safe tomorrow. Call me tomorrow night?"

"Regular time tomorrow night, I promise. Goodnight, Babe."

"Goodnight."

We hung up the phone at the same time, but it was another hour before I finally succumbed to sleep—there were simply too many "what ifs" on my mind to rest peacefully.


	8. Chapter 8: Changes

**Chapter 8: Changes  
Two Days Later  
Stephanie's POV**

After talking to Tank and Les and then the conversation with Ranger, I was ready to start making the changes I needed to make. First up was telling Vinnie and the girls I was quitting the bounty hunter job. I pulled up in front of the office and saw a RangeMan truck already there, so I knew I'd have backup if I needed it. I took a deep breath before going in.

I walked in to find Connie and Lula deep in conversation over a box of donuts.

"Skinny-ass white girl, lookit what my man brought in with him this morning! He said he knew we were going to need it today. Any idea what he meant by that?" Lula gave me a piercing stare, and I tried to look innocent.

"Uh, well, the truth is, I'm here to give Vinnie my notice. I'm going to work full-time for RangeMan," I started, aware of the dead silence coming from both of the ladies. "I'll still be doing some skips... I'll just be working with a partner so I can work on the higher bonds, too."

Lula's face fell.

"Lula, don't look so sad. I'll still be available to help you anytime you need backup, okay, girl? I'll be in here regularly, just like I am now. Not that much will change."

They nodded, glancing toward Vinnie's closed door.

"Good luck telling him that," Connie said. "He's already in a pissy mood since Tank came in to tell him the shit Ranger is dealing with is taking longer than he wanted and he'll be gone awhile still."

"He'll get over it. I'm not really going anywhere. I'll just be harder to push around since I'll have Ranger and the guys at my back," I said, grinning.

We sat around eating donuts until Tank walked back into the room.

He smiled at Lula and turned his grin to me. "Don't worry, Steph. I got your back."

Vinnie came storming out. "Wanted to talk to me, Plum?"

"Uh, yeah," I sputtered. "I'm going to work full-time for RangeMan. I'll still be available to do skips, but will be taking a partner with me to do the higher-bond stuff. Lula is more than capable of doing the ones I've been doing, and anytime she needs backup, I told her she can call me and I'll be there. Got a problem with any of that?" I was definitely feeling braver with Tank standing behind me, a hand resting on my shoulder.

He glanced at Lula, then at Tank, and finally at me and said, "Okay, then. Tank went over the rest. Take the files Connie has for you and get to work. We're not getting paid for you guys to stand around and gossip!"

We all laughed as he slammed the door to his office. That was the Vinnie we all knew and hated. Saying goodbye to the girls, I grabbed the files and headed out with Tank.

"Meet you back at RangeMan?" I asked him.

He nodded, so I got in the car and followed him away from the office.

After running the searches on the four skips we had, Tank and I headed out to pick them up. As we were riding down to the garage, Les and Bobby stopped us and asked if we wanted to meet up for lunch at Shorty's later. After agreeing on a time, Tank and I climbed into the truck and l gave him the address for the first skip.

On the way to the first house, I asked him, "Tank, Vinnie mentioned something about you telling him the 'rest of it.' What did he mean by that?"

"Well, your pay will increase. You'll be bringing in the higher bond FTAs, so you'll get paid accordingly. Also, no more giving you an unnecessary hard time, especially since you now own one fifth of the company."

I was silent for a minute while Tank's words registered. "Wait, what? _Own_? Excuse me?"

Tank chuckled. "You really should have heard this from Ranger, but since he hasn't told you yet, I guess I will. Ranger has owned forty percent of the bonds company for a couple of years now. He set it up just a few days ago, before you'd even decided to start with RangeMan full-time. He wanted to give you half of his shares." I started to interrupt, but he held up his hand and continued, "No, don't ask me why. That's a question only he can answer for himself."

I was quiet then, my mind going in a handful of different directions. When we got to the first house, we were suddenly all business. The rest of the stuff would have to wait.

We managed to grab three of our four skips before lunch. After depositing the third at TPD, it was time to meet the guys at Shorty's.

We walked in, and not only were Lester and Bobby there, but sitting around the table were Hal, Cal, and Hector, as well. We ordered four large pizzas and sat around talking until they came. Then we talked some more around the food in our mouths.

We spent two hours there until Tank reluctantly looked at his watch. "Okay, people, time to get back to work. I don't think the guys we left in charge are going to be happy if we stay much longer. C'mon, Steph. Let's go grab the last guy so we can head home."

I waved to the guys, getting a hug and squeeze from Bobby and Lester, and then followed Tank out to the truck. It only took us thirty minutes to pick up the last skip. When we ran back to the bonds office, Tank went in to drop off the papers and pick up the checks. Following that, we headed back to RangeMan.

When we pulled up in the garage, Tank looked at his watch. "Hey, Steph, I have a meeting with a perspective client in an hour. Can you sit in with me and talk to them, kind of feel them out? I know your instincts and think you'd be a big help."

I shrugged. "Sure, if you'd like me to. Let me go up to seven and freshen up, and then I'll meet you there. Uniform or business?"

"Well, this is a pretty big company, so business, if you have it. Otherwise, just a fresh uniform would be fine."

"Ella has me covered, I believe. That woman is prepared for anything."

We both laughed, knowing it was more than true.

I dropped by my cubicle to make sure there was nothing urgent for me to do, started one search for Rodriguez, and then finally headed up to seven.

Showering quickly, I tamed my hair, dressed in the gray skirt and white blouse with the RangeMan logo stitched onto the collar, and added a bit of makeup. I still had a few minutes, so I sat down at the computer to fire off a quick email to Ranger.

~oOo~

From: Stephanie Plum  
To: Carlos Manoso  
Date: Tue, Oct 21, 2008 at 2:49 PM  
Subject: Ricky, you gots some 'splainin to do!

So imagine my surprise this morning when I told Vinnie about coming to work for RangeMan full-time and learned from Tank that I now own twenty percent of the bonds office. What a surprise!

*glares* Next time, tell me yourself! We talked for a long time last night and you didn't even give me a warning. What's up with that?

Time to head down to the meeting. Will talk to you more tonight.

Have a good day, Carlos.

Steph

~oOo~

Two hours later, George Jenkins, the jewelry store owner, Tank, and I all stood up. They shook hands and agreed to meet later in the week to sign the contracts.

"I'll meet you here on Friday to sign the papers," Tank told him.

Mr. Jenkins looked over at me. "Won't Ms. Plum be there, as well? I assumed she was a major part of this. My wife always said to trust my instincts, and mine are screaming at me that if this charming young woman is involved with my accounts, they will no doubt be handled with the utmost care."

Tank glanced at me and gave a slight nod.

"Yes, I'll be there, Mr. Jenkins. I'm here to help you with whatever you need."

As he nodded, Tank took two business cards from the folder in front of him and handed them to Mr. Jenkins. "Here is Ms. Plum's information. Feel free to call her with whatever questions you have. If she isn't available, please give me a call. One of us should be here for you whenever you have any questions."

Mr. Jenkins shook both our hands and was escorted out by Junior.

As soon as they left, I whirled around and held out my hand. "Gimme," I growled at Tank.

Chuckling, he took out a stack of business cards. "Seems like I'm giving away a lot of the boss's secrets today," he admitted.

Taking the cards, I looked down to read:

**Stephanie Plum  
Account Representative  
RangeMan, Inc.  
Phone: (555)555-4425  
Email: splum-at-rangeman-dot-com**

"Tank?"

"Well, Bombshell, when the boss wants you as part of the company, he really plans ahead. You've shown how well you handle working with the new accounts, and we all feel like you're a major asset, so if this is what you want, this is what we think you deserve."

I was floored. Tears pooled up in my eyes and I threw my arms around him. "Thanks, big guy! I'm so going to kill him for having to hear this from you!"

"Aww, don't be too hard on the man, Steph. He's been nervous as hell to tell you himself. He figured you might accept it easier coming from me so you don't think of it as charity. He does want to go over the details with you himself, though."

Since he had a point, I calmed down and grinned. "This is great, Tank. Thank you."

"Our pleasure, Bombe—uh, Stephanie."

I noticed his hesitation and realized he hadn't been calling me Bomber or Bombshell like he normally did. It took me a moment to realize he was trying to keep from reminding me about the bomb in my apartment.

"Tank... You know you can still call me Bomber, right? Don't let some crazy guy with a grudge change things like that." I gave him a stern look, doing my best to raise one eyebrow until he smiled.

With a laugh, he nodded. "Fine, Bomber. You're scheduled to meet with Lester at the gun range in twenty minutes. Go get changed and meet him down there!"

"Yes, sir, boss!" I grabbed the rest of my things, headed up to seven to change back into my uniform, and then rode the elevator to the garage.

Giving the guys in the control room a finger wave through the camera, I stepped from the garage into the stairwell leading down into the basement, where I was meeting Les.

"Lester Santos, did you know about this?" I asked, handing him a business card when I got downstairs.

He grinned. "I certainly did. Who do you think came up with such a fancy title?"

I laughed. "You goof ball!"

He stuck the card in his pocket, suddenly serious. "I'm assuming you brought your gun?"

I rolled my eyes. "I hate carrying it, but I do know that's what the gun range is for, Santos."

"Well, Beautiful, you never know," he said, sarcasm evident in his tone.

We spent the next two hours getting me comfortable breaking down my gun, cleaning it, putting it back together, and loading it. By the time we finished, I could do it in about twice the time he could. I made a disgruntled sound in my throat.

"Don't worry, Steph. I've been doing this for more years than I'd like to admit. You've made a lot of progress in the last two hours. We'll work some more on it Thursday and get you started shooting. Starting now, I want you carrying this, _loaded_, unless you're in the shower or sleeping. On your body, unless the situation calls for it, when you can have it in your purse. You won't get used to it unless you practice. Understand?"

"Got it," I said, checking to make sure the safety was on and that it was loaded before sticking it in my cargoes at the small of my back. "Hey, Les, you got plans for dinner?"

"Nope. Just gonna have some leftovers and read some papers Ranger sent from Boston. Why?"

"Wanna come with me to eat dinner with me and my parents? I think my mom said pot roast with all the trimmings tonight."

"Dessert?" he asked, grinning.

"Of course. Also, I'll protect you from my grandma."

"Sure, Beautiful, I'd love to go with you." He looked at his watch. "Give me fifteen to clean up?"

I nodded, agreeing to meet at five forty, and then ran to the elevator. I needed to change clothes before we left. I'd carry my gun to dinner, but unless I was ordered to do so, there was no way I was going to show up at my parents' house in uniform. My mother might have been loosening up the last few months, but telling her I was going to be working full-time for Ranger was going to be hard enough dressed in jeans and a T-shirt.

~oOo~

Later that night, I lay in bed in one of Ranger's black T-shirts, waiting for his call. I was tired after the visit to my parents' house, even though it had gone a lot better than I'd expected, and I was ready for what had become my favorite part of the day.

When the phone rang, I smiled and grabbed it before it could ring a second time. I knew the rest of the night would be fun and would most likely lead to lust-filled dreams.

I settled down under the covers and said, "Hi, Batman. How was your day?"

His husky voice said the one word I knew could mean so many things. "Babe."


	9. Chapter 9: And Another

**Chapter 9: And Another...  
Ranger's POV**

I swept into the apartment fifteen minutes early and jumped in the shower. Ten minutes later, I was lying in bed under the sheets and dialing the apartment in Trenton.

Steph picked up the phone on the second ring. "Hi, Batman. How was your day?"

"Babe," I said in a husky voice. I felt peace settle over me immediately at hearing her voice. "It was okay. We spoke to Janice Harris today for a few hours. She played the poor widow card the entire time, denying any involvement with Harper. She finally broke down and admitted to having an affair with him after we showed her the emails and phone logs we had, but she's still denying having set up a hit on her husband."

"Do you have any hopes of finding any proof of that?" Steph asked.

I frowned. "We still have a few leads we're going to be running down. The more time it takes, though, the less likely it looks. On a different topic... How'd it go at dinner with your parents? Did Les behave himself? Did your grandma?"

She laughed. "Les was fine. Grandma only pinched him twice—once coming in and once going out. Dad and Grandma both reacted like I'd expected them to, saying it was about time I figured out that was where I should be working. Mom took the news a lot better than I'd anticipated. She said it was good because now, I was sure to have backup when I did the job I insisted on doing. I think she's finally coming to terms with how I want to live my life."

"That's great, Babe. Proud of you for standing up to her."

"Thank you, Ranger. You've helped me a lot with that. You give me more self-confidence to do the things I want to do and to stand up for my choices. You're helping me fly. Without you, I might be Mrs. Joe Morelli, typical 'Burg wife and mother. Without you, I have no doubt I'd be unhappy and stuck in a life that everyone else seemed to want for me without caring that I didn't want that for myself. So thank you from the bottom of my heart."

I was speechless. What did you say to something like that anyway? I just opened my mouth and let my heart speak for me. "My pleasure, Babe. Whatever I can do to make you happy and make you strong, I'll give everything I have to make it happen."

We were both silent for a long while until she finally cleared her throat, saying, "So, how about some more questions?"

"More? You mean you don't know everything about me yet?" I grinned, happy she was enjoying the questions and answers.

"I haven't even scratched the surface, I'm sure. First question tonight is what was your favorite childhood junk food? I know you haven't been a salad freak your entire life," she joked.

I hesitated. I knew she would hang this over my head for the rest of our lives together. Finally, I mumbled, "Twinkies."

She gasped. "Did you just say _Twinkies_? When you give me crap about my _Tastycakes_?" she asked incredulously.

"Babe, it was twenty years ago! You ate Tastycakes tonight, didn't you?" I'd almost bet she'd had at least one today.

I was rewarded with a laugh. "Well, yes, but—"

"But nothing," I insisted. "My question now. You're a sugar fiend. How many cavities have you had?"

"Hah!" Her shriek of delight had me chuckling. "Only one, and it was way back in the very back where it was hard to get to."

"I'm impressed," I said honestly. "I thought for sure you'd have at least six or seven by now." I loved teasing her.

"Oh, hush up, you. Okay, next question. Who's your hero?"

I thought about that for a moment. I had two answers to that question. One of my answers, I wasn't sure she would want to hear. I went with the other first instead.

"My father. He was career military, like I mentioned before, but he was also there for our family every possible chance he could get. I saw the way he loved and treated my mother. He made her feel like she was wonderful every day, that she may not have been perfect, but she was perfect for him. He treated us like a father should treat his children. We weren't his friends, but we weren't worth less than he was, either, simply because we were his children and were kids. He made us feel like he valued our opinions and that our hopes and dreams were valid and worthy of striving for. When he died, it opened a huge hole in my chest, and even to this day, sometimes it's hard to remember he's not there when I call to speak to my mom or grandmother."

I finally paused to take a deep breath and heard absolute silence. "Babe? Still with me?"

She finally made a noise, like she was clearing her throat. "That's beautiful, Ranger. Your mother sounds like a lucky woman, even losing him as early as she did."

"She was, Babe. Steph, I'm not done. My father was definitely my hero, but I have a second hero, as well. This person I admire so very much because no matter what stands in their way, they never give up. They constantly amaze me with their strength and their resilience."

I stopped for a minute, swallowing hard.

"I've seen this person take a beating, both physically and emotionally, so many times, it's broken my heart over and over again. Yet, they continue to stand up and fight back. I've faced the scariest situations most people could dream of, yet sometimes, this person's strength of character and the goodness of their heart scare me shitless. I constantly have to remind myself not to compare myself to them, because while not always physically, this person has me beat every single time."

"Wow. Are you talking about Tank?"

I closed my eyes and admitted, "No, Stephanie. I'm talking about you."

"Carlos..." She went quiet.

"Babe, I've never lied to you, and I certainly won't start now. Believe me when I say, the minute I met you, I learned never to underestimate you. You constantly surprise me. You're one in a million, Steph."

There was nowhere for us to go after that admission, so we said goodnight.

"Call me tomorrow night?" she asked quietly.

"Every night, Babe. I'll be here. Sleep well."

"You, too, Ranger. Goodnight."

She hung up the phone, and when I heard the dial tone, I finally clicked End on mine, as well.

With a lighter heart than I could imagine, I slid into sleep, a soft smile on my face and thinking of my Babe.


	10. Chapter 10: Spidey Sense for the Win

**Chapter 10: Spidey-Sense for the Win!  
Three Weeks Later  
Stephanie's POV**

I was settling comfortably into my new position at RangeMan. Training was going well. The guys seemed very pleased with my progress, and I had to admit that I loved looking at my new svelte body. Running was still a pain in the ass, but if it got me looking like this _and_ still able to eat dessert most nights, I was okay with that!

I could now hit the target in the right place almost every time I shot...and I was carrying my loaded gun on me at all times. I'd managed to nearly take down Lester once Tank had taught me self-defense moves. Thanks to Bobby, I could now pick locks with the best of them. He'd also taught me basic CPR and medical care so when I was in the field with the guys, I was a help, not a hindrance if someone was injured. Overall, I was feeling pretty damn confident.

I'd spent the last month trying to track down the jackass that had finally driven me out of my apartment for good. Even so, I was surprised when I'd finally found him not long after getting to work today.

I picked up the phone and called Tank. "Tank, I found Jefferson."

"Where?" As always, straight to the point.

"Staying with a friend's cousin's nephew. Don't ask me how I found that out. Just happened to get lucky. Anyway, he's in Philadelphia, but apparently, he's planning on leaving soon, so I think we need to go pick him up today," I explained.

"My office, ten minutes," he ordered before hanging up.

I finished the search I had running, and right before time was up, I ran over to Tank's office. I walked in to find Lester, Cal, and Junior all sitting around various spots in the office. I grabbed a chair beside Les and gave Tank the folder of information I'd put together.

"You're up, Bomber. Tell us what you know," he said.

"Through various contacts—friends of friends, gossip mills, you all know how it works—I figured out Jefferson is currently staying with a friend's cousin's nephew. He's been moving around every week or so, which was why it was so hard for me to get a handle on his whereabouts. The guy is less than an hour away, in Philadelphia. As far as I know, he doesn't know I'm on to where he's staying. My contact was going to make sure she didn't let anything slip. She wants the guy gone from where he's currently staying just as much as we want him picked up."

Staying true to form, Lester asked, "So when are we leaving?"

"Half an hour," Tank said to the group. "Get your gear and meet down at the garage. Lester, Steph, and I will take one truck, while you guys"—motioning to Cal and Junior—"take another."

Twenty-five minutes later, I had one gun at the small of my back and another in a holster at my ankle. My vest was in one hand, and the Jefferson file was in the other. Everyone else was ready as well, so we climbed in and headed out of town.

When we got to Philadelphia, Tank followed the GPS instructions to get to the house. We parked two blocks away, strapped on our vests, ear pieces, and mics, and then made our way slowly toward the house. As we reached the house next door, I stopped short, causing Lester to run into me from behind.

"Beautiful?" he questioned.

His voice brought the rest of the group to a standstill. They turned to face me, their eyes asking what their voices didn't.

"I—I don't know. I'm getting a very bad feeling about this. Something isn't sitting well with me. I can't tell what exactly, but I'm really getting the feeling we need to be extra careful when we get to the house."

I looked at Tank as I spoke, somehow, some way, needing him to believe me. I didn't know why. I certainly couldn't explain it.

"Your spidey-sense again, Steph? Okay, let's get up there and we'll take a look." He glanced around to the group. "Everyone keep their eyes peeled."

We got up to the house and Tank motioned for Cal and Junior to go around back. "Wait for my signal," he said.

The three of us—Tank, Lester, and I—slowly made our way to the front door. He looked over at me. "Still getting the feeling, Steph?"

I nodded. "Much more intense now. I don't know, Tank. Something isn't right."

"Okay, I can't see anything. Santos, go look around and see if you can find other points of entry. Cal and Junior, hold your positions."

Lester took off, silently skirting the house. After a moment, his voice suddenly spoke over the ear pieces. "Window unlocked, lower floor, east side. No movement down here that I see. Moving around to the other side." It was quiet for several minutes, and then his voice came up again. "Another unlocked window in what looks like the laundry room. Coming back around front."

We stood there, the hairs on the back of my neck standing up until Les came back around front.

"Tank, we got a problem," he said. "These are not huge windows. The only one of us fitting through any of them is Stephanie. Any reason we can't just go through the doors?"

I shook my head immediately. "No, I don't know why. But the window's our best bet."

He nodded. "Steph, you okay to go in and unlock the door for us?"

I nodded without needing to think it over. "Let's do it."

"Santos, go with her, check out the room, and then boost her up. Come back around here as soon as she clears that room."

We moved around the corner of the house and heard Tank's voice. "Cal, Junior, stay there in case he bolts."

When we got to the window, Les peeked inside, confirmed it was still empty, and then slowly opened the window. Boosting me up, he helped me slide inside, gun drawn.

As soon as I was clear of the room, Lester's voice said quietly, "Okay, she's in. Coming around to you, Tank."

"Steph, take it slow. Keep your eyes open. Senses alert," Tank instructed.

I made my way cautiously into the hall, stepping carefully so as to not make any noise. Making my way to the front hall, I kept my eyes and ears open. "Almost there. No sign of anyone down here," I whispered.

Cal's voice broke in and he said calmly, "There's movement in one of the upstairs windows, but I don't think anyone's seen us. As far as I can tell, he doesn't know we're here yet."

When I got to the front door, I let out a quiet gasp.

"What is it, Stephanie?" Tank asked quickly.

"Explosives attached to the front door," I whispered, my stomach clenching and threatening to revolt from nerves. "I don't see a timer. Looks like some kind of trip wire or something, so when we open the front door, the entire thing would blow. Let me go to the back door and check it."

I took two minutes to quietly move to the back and then said, "Same thing here. Tank, can you talk me through this? We have to get you guys in here."

"I can, Steph. You have your cell phone? Take a few pictures of it all and send them to me. Lester and I are moving around with the guys at the kitchen door."

I did as he asked, taking shots of everything from multiple angles before sending them to Tank's cell phone.

"Okay, Steph. Quietly find a sharp knife or some scissors there in the kitchen."

"Already thought of that. I found the kitchen shears on the counter."

"There are going to be two steps to this. First, carefully follow the blue wire to where it connects to the explosives. Don't do anything with it yet; just find the connection," Tank said calmly.

"Got it," I whispered. I paused, listening. "I hear movement upstairs. Keep talking, but hurry. I'd rather not have to handle this guy alone if I don't have to."

"Carefully lift the blue wire enough to see what's under it next to the device."

I lifted the blue wire to see a small cell phone. "Shit," I cursed under my breath. "Cell phone."

"That's what I was afraid of. Steph, quietly make your way back to the window. Lester will help you out. We're going to call the police," Tank said.

"Tank, I can do this. Let's just do it," I said firmly.

"You sure, Steph?"

"Dammit, just do it," I hissed.

Tank cursed softly, muttering something about Ranger killing him, and then said to me, "First, put your finger on the end of the blue wire. You don't want it to detach from the device. That will trigger the explosion. Holding it in place firmly, take your knife, and very, _very_ carefully, cut through the blue wire only."

I held my breath, stuck a finger to and pressed gently but tightly to the end of the blue wire, and then using my other hand, I slid the scissors around the wire. Giving a quick pinch, I cut through the wire, carefully holding the end against the explosives.

"Okay, the blue wire is cut and still attached."

"Great. That disconnected the cell phone trigger. Now to take care of the trip wire. Piece of cake. Find the right wire and just snip it in two carefully."

I held my breath and did as Tank instructed. When nothing happened, I let out a quiet breath and said, "All right, done."

"Okay, now quietly move to the other door. We need to disarm them both so he doesn't have a chance to use the cell phone trigger on that one as we're trying to grab him."

Three minutes later, the second explosive was also disabled, and at least from my end, I was breathing easier.

"Steph, go into the other room, as far from the doors as possible. I'm going to open the kitchen door, and just in case, I don't want you near it," Tank said quietly.

I moved away to the other room, and soon, I heard Tank whisper, "We're in. Cal and Junior are going to stay outside and fire into the upstairs windows to try to draw him down here with us. Lester is coming to you."

Lester soon joined me in the room across from the stairs, and I saw Tank move to the other side of the hall.

Over the ear pieces, we heard Cal's voice say, "Fire in the hole," followed by a hail of gunfire outside and overhead.

There was scrambling upstairs as Jefferson tried to hide from the bullets flying into the windows. Finally, we heard him cursing as he flew down the stairs.

As he ran past the room we were in, Lester and I stepped out, guns drawn. Tank flung his arm out and cold-cocked the guy, surprising him and forcing him to the ground.

"Freeze, motherfucker." His voice was deadly hard. "Handcuffs," he ordered to no one in particular.

I flicked on the safety, tucked my gun in my pants, and grabbed the handcuffs from my pocket. With their guns trained on the guy, Les and Tank watched as I grabbed his arms and roughly pulled them behind his back one at a time. When I had him cuffed, Tank put his gun away and grabbed the guy's arms, jerking him to his feet. We raced him out the back door and across the street.

As soon as we were clear, Cal said, "Just called the police. Philly PD is on its way with the bomb squad. Proud of you, Stephanie!"

The other guys nodded, clapping me on the shoulders.

Lester picked me up in a big bear hug. Giving me a wet kiss on my forehead, he laughed. "Didn't know you had it in you, Steph!"

We spent forty-five minutes talking with the cops about what had gone on before finally making our way back to Trenton. After dropping Jefferson off at TPD and giving our statements, we went back to RangeMan.

"Bomber, dinner is on us tonight. Meet you down here at six o'clock?"

I nodded my agreement and headed up to the seventh floor. I had a whole two hours until I would need to get ready, and I intended to spend every bit of that time asleep. It had been a long, stressful afternoon. I couldn't wait to relax at dinner and then spend hours on the phone with Ranger tonight. I wondered what he would think when he found out how I'd spent my day!


	11. Chapter 11: And Another

_Warning for lemony goodness._

~oOo~

**Chapter 11: And Another...  
Ranger's POV**

I hung up the phone after talking with Tank, giving myself a few minutes to calm down before talking with Steph. He'd filled me in on the day they'd had. When he'd mentioned Stephanie going in and disarming the bomb from the inside, my knees had given out and I'd sunk down to the floor against the wall. I hadn't felt that terrified since Scrog had kidnapped the two most important women in my life—and that time had included Stephanie, as well. Once I'd gotten past the fear, I realized I hadn't been that proud of anyone for anything in my entire life, either.

Picking myself up, I pulled my clothes off and made my way to the bed. I didn't even bother getting under the sheet. I dialed the phone and fell back against the pillows, getting comfortable.

"Hi, Ranger," Steph's sweet voice answered.

"Babe." I took a deep breath, relieved to hear her voice and know for myself she was safe. "How was your day?"

"It was great! We got him, Ranger. We got Jefferson!"

"Babe, how'd you do that?"

She sounded so excited that I knew I needed to play along and not let on that I'd already heard.

"I tracked him using family and friends and found out he was holed up at...well, it doesn't matter. The important thing is, we went and got him! He's in custody and charges are being filed for the bombing of my apartment."

I felt my eyes narrowing. She wasn't going to tell me about the bombs, was she?

"So tell me about the takedown," I said, trying to sound calm and not abnormally interested. "Did it go smoothly?"

"Well, umm, no. Not exactly, but we worked it out in the end." She was trying her damndest to gloss over it.

"Babe, there's no _not exactly_ about going into the house with a likely armed man and diffusing two bombs with very little help."

She gasped. "Tank called you, didn't he?"

I made a noise of confirmation.

"He shouldn't have. I didn't want you to find out. Everything worked out fine."

"Stephanie Michelle Plum, how could you not plan on telling me how brave and strong you were today?" I put aside my fears and made sure she heard nothing but pride and love in my voice.

"Brave? Strong? Ranger, what—"

I interrupted her before she could say any more. "Yes, brave and strong. Many untrained men would have been terrified to go in and do what you did. No one would have blamed you had you backed out when Tank told you to. Instead, you stayed, followed Tank's instructions to the letter, and played a major part in capturing the bad guy. You saved not only your life, but the lives of four of my men by listening to your gut—your spidey-sense—when it told you there was something hinky about the house. One of my favorite quotes when I think of you has always been, 'Don't let the chains of the world keep you down. Cast them off and be free to fly.' You flew today, Stephanie. You're amazing, Babe. I'm so proud of you."

She was quiet for a minute. In a small voice, she said, "Thank you. I was terrified, but I kept asking myself, _Would Ranger back down, or would he swallow the fear and do what needs to be done?_ The decision after that was easy."

"Babe, you have no idea how turned on I am right now. The thought of you being so strong inside makes me so hard I hurt," I told her seriously.

"Ranger!"

"It's been six weeks since I kissed you. Six weeks since I touched your soft, smooth skin. Six weeks since I felt you pressed up against me. Forgive me if I seem a little crude. I just want you so much, it's killing me," I admitted.

"Well, maybe..." she started, sounding nervous.

"Maybe what, Babe?"

"Maybe I can help with that," she offered, sounding a bit more sure of herself.

"How would you do that, Steph?"

"What if I told you to close your eyes and imagine me there with you right now?" Her voice was low and full of lust.

"They're closed, Babe. I can almost feel you here in my arms."

"Reach down and touch yourself for me, Carlos. Keep your eyes closed and pretend it's me touching you."

I trailed my hand down my chest and over my abs, moving down to my hardening cock. Running my fingers up and down the length, I moaned into the phone. "_Dios, Babe. Mi pene es tan duro para usted ahora que podría explotar. Para que te toque me gusta esto sería el cielo._" I knew she'd have no idea what I'd said, but I knew from the noises I was making that she would understand.

"That's it, Carlos. Stroke your cock for me. Think about me reaching down with one hand and slowly brushing my fingers across my nipples, making them hard under my touch, just like your cock is getting harder with every stroke of your hand."

Steph's voice was sending rockets of pleasure to every part of my body, and my dick was responding appropriately. Every word made me a little bit harder, lengthened me just a bit. I felt huge in my hand, bigger than I could ever remember being. I wanted to make her feel as good as she was making me feel, so I took a deep breath and said, "Babe, pinch your nipples for me. Make them good and hard for me so they're ready for my lips and tongue."

She moaned in response and then whispered, "Carlos, that feels so good. I'm pinching and twisting one, making it so hard. Now the other is begging for my attention." She moaned a little louder and cried, "Oh, God!"

I squeezed myself gently, not wanting to move too fast. "Are you wet for me, Babe?" I asked her quietly. "Touch yourself and tell me how much you want me."

I heard her moan and then her breath quickened, and I knew her fingers were running themselves over her slick lips.

"I'm so wet, Carlos. My thighs are covered."

"Fuck, Babe!" I gave my cock a hard squeeze and stroked myself a bit faster. "Run a finger between your lips to wet it and then slowly slide it inside you. Imagine it's my finger."

"Carlos! I need more. Please, let me have more," she begged.

My dick swelled even further, and I began pulling and stroking even harder, squeezing every time I got to the base.

"Pretend I'm there, Babe. Get two more fingers wet and thrust them in with the first. Stretch yourself for me while I stroke myself," I said in a strong voice.

I listened as she whimpered, and I could tell she was adding in the other two fingers.

"Curl them inside you, _amante._ Find the right spot. I'm almost there, Steph. I want you to come with me." I continued to stroke and squeeze my dick, letting the sounds coming from her mouth wash over me.

"God, Carlos, I need to come!" Her voice sounded strained and she was breathing heavily.

"Then come for me, Stephanie. Come all over my fingers inside you." My voice broke and I stroked my dick so hard that suddenly, I was coming all over my hand. "I'm coming, Steph. _Dios!_ Come with me."

As I heard her cry out my name, I felt another stream squirt from my shaft so hard that it ended up on my chest. I lay there panting, gently squeezing every last drop from myself as I heard her coming down from her orgasm.

After several minutes of nothing but heavy breathing and the occasional whimper, I asked quietly, "Babe? You okay?"

"I'm great, Ranger," she answered breathlessly. "Thank you."

"No need for thanks, _querida._ It was pleasure for us both. I miss you, Stephanie."

"I miss you, too."

"It's late, Babe. Get cleaned up and then get some sleep. I'll call you tomorrow night, okay? One last thing, Steph. Always remember how very, very proud of you I am."

"Thank you, Ranger. Sleep well. I'll talk to you tomorrow night."

She hung up and I quickly went to the shower. I needed a cold shower to clean up and to calm my still-raging hormones. _Dios,_ what that woman could do to me with just the sound of her voice.

As I slid into bed, I knew my dreams tonight would be of Stephanie. There was nothing else in the world that would be better than having her in my head all night long.

~oooOOOooo~

_Translation:_

_Mi pene es tan duro para usted ahora que podría explotar. Para que te toque me gusta esto sería el cielo. **(My dick is so hard for you right now I could explode. To have you touch me like this would be Heaven.)**_


	12. Chapter 12: A New Client

**Chapter 12: A New Client  
Two Weeks Later  
Stephanie's POV**

I woke up feeling better than I had in two months. Ranger had told me last night on the phone that he should be home in the next two weeks. It had been a long two months for me, what with all the training and new job situation, but I knew it had been even tougher for him.

I pulled on my cargoes, RangeMan T-shirt, and running shoes and then headed down to the gym to meet the guys.

"Hey, Les. Tank. You guys talk to Ranger last night or this morning?"

"Yeah, Bomber. He called this morning. Said a couple of weeks, and then he'd be home," Tank said.

I began running on the treadmill beside Lester. "Yeah, that's what he told me last night. That's good. Been too quiet around here without him."

The three of us laughed, knowing that quiet, stoic Ranger could never be accused of livening up the place with his enthusiasm.

After our run, Tank pulled me over to the mats. "Think you can take Santos down today? You've been working six weeks on this, Steph. Time to put your money where your training is. I'll put twenty bucks down that you can pin him."

Lester laughed. "I'll take that bet. Beautiful, you're good, but no way..."

I whirled around to face him and held my hand up in a "come and get it" gesture.

Tank stepped off the mat, giving us room to play. Lester stalked toward me, pinning me to the spot with his gaze. I slammed my blank face into place. That was another thing the guys had taught me after I'd moved into RangeMan. I didn't let Les see any emotions, aside from what I wanted him to see.

An hour later, Tank was grinning at a sweaty, bruised Lester. "You owe me twenty. Technically, you should owe me forty. She pinned you _twice_, man!"

Lester blushed, glancing at me. "Ya did good, Beautiful. I'm impressed." He smirked then. "Next time, I won't go easy on you."

I glared at him and stalked away to the sound of laughter coming from both men. I flipped them the bird as I left the room, desperately needing to shower off the sweat and grime from my workout.

At three o'clock, after putting in an almost full day's worth of work, I went up to seven to shower and change into a business suit. I was heading a meeting with a potential new client at four and needed to look my best. Ella had been a miracle worker and had stocked half the closet with suits and dress clothes in my new size—all the exercise had paid off and I'd dropped two pants sizes—all embroidered with the RangeMan logo on the breast pocket or collar.

After dressing in a charcoal gray skirt with matching jacket and peach silk shirt, I slipped on a pair of black dress pumps. I grabbed my keys and the client's information folder before heading downstairs.

I made it into the conference room right at three thirty. Lester, Tank, and Bobby filed in behind me. I was quite satisfied to see the small bruise forming under Lester's eye, and I gave him a poor puppy dog look. "Aww, the big man got a boo boo from a widdle girl?"

The baby talk earned me a glare from Lester and a chuckle from the others as they sat down around me at the table.

"Yeah, yeah, yuck it up," Les said, glaring at all of us. "What's the deal with the client today, Steph?"

"Hans Frederickson owns two furniture stores. One specializes in antiques, while the other carries only new items. We were referred to him by the owner of Hamilton Jewelers, who is also a client and happens to be Mr. Frederickson's cousin by marriage. The two stores were getting by with a regular simple alarm system, but the antique store was robbed two months ago, and since that night, the alarm has gone off a handful of times. He finally decided something needed to change. So when Mr. Hamilton recommended us, he went ahead and called."

We spent the remainder of our time going over the details of the costs and benefits for our proposal. We'd just finished when Junior knocked on the door and led in the potential client.

Mr. Frederickson was a short little man—maybe just shy of five and a half feet tall. He was well-dressed, in navy blue slacks, a light blue dress shirt, a dark red tie, and a navy sports coat. The only thing off about his appearance was the absolutely horrible toupee he was wearing. My eyes were immediately drawn to the top of his head, and I forced them down to meet his gaze with a friendly smile on my face.

"Hello," I said. "I'm Stephanie Plum. I spoke with you on the phone last week."

He nodded, shaking my hand.

"This is Tank, Lester, and Bobby," I continued, motioning to each of the guys with an outstretched hand. "Please, have a seat."

"Thank you, Ms. Plum," he replied, sitting in the empty chair I'd indicated.

"Please, call me Stephanie, or Steph."

He nodded, so I decided to continue.

"We had a chance to look over the information you provided, and we think we've come up with a package that will satisfy your needs while not blowing your budget for the year." I handed him a small stack of papers. "If you notice here, we've outlined the basic security measures we would take for both stores. Then here"—motioning my finger down the page—"are the extra items that would be needed for Hans On Antiques. As those pieces are much more valuable and more likely to be stolen, there are some extra measures we believe would be beneficial. That page also contains a cost-per item analysis and overall charges. Finally, the following page details RangeMan's extended responsibilities more thoroughly. Please read through them and feel free to ask any questions you may have as you read."

He spent ten minutes reading through everything once, and then again, finally putting the papers down in front of him. "Everything looks good. I just have one question. As you know, I've been dealing with one of the big name security companies up until now. Unfortunately, that didn't help prevent the burglary. I've also been dissatisfied with their response to the multiple false alarms since then. How can you reassure me that working with RangeMan would be different? You are much more expensive, and I have to know it's worth the price to switch. Otherwise, there's no point."

I glanced at the guys and Tank nodded slightly my way, letting me know this was mine to answer. "Mr. Frederickson, let me assure you that RangeMan's number one priority will be keeping your businesses secure. We have round the clock monitoring—not only with the systems, but we have people watching the security cameras twenty-four-seven. If a problem does occur, we have a team that will respond personally. We don't simply call the tripped alarm into the police like most alarm companies do.

"At the first sign of trouble, a team is dispatched to the location. They search the store and the immediate area for trouble. If they find nothing, our tech will go over every inch of the alarm system, searching for a reason the alarm went off. If it happens more than once, one of the men may stay at the store round the clock for several days to try to catch anything the team missed. If it continues to happen and we can't find the problem, we will replace the alarm system at our cost. Just so you know, though, none of our accounts have ever come to that." I looked at him carefully and asked, "Does that help answer your question?"

He smiled and nodded. "First, please, call me Hans. Just one more question. Is it possible to deal with the lovely Ms. Plum every time I need to speak to RangeMan about my account? You remind me very much of my daughter, Raene."

I laughed softly. "Yes, Hans, I will be your contact with RangeMan. Are you ready to sign?"

He grabbed the pen from the table and scribbled his name on all the pages.

I signed them myself and then passed them to Lester. "Could you make copies of these, please?"

He took them from me and went to the copy machine in the corner. Less than a minute later, he was back. He handed me the originals and gave the copies to Mr. Frederickson.

"Okay, Hans, it looks like we will be available to come install the system at Hans On Antiques on Monday. The team will then come on Tuesday to Frederickson's Furniture. By this time next week, your stores will be completely secure."

The team and I stood and I pulled out a business card. "Here's my card. It has my direct contact number. When we come to install the system, you will receive the contact information for emergencies and the other RangeMan contact information you need. Until then, please feel free to contact me if you have any concerns or questions."

"Thank you, Stephanie. Thank you to all of you," he added, looking at Tank, Lester, and Bobby. "I feel better already. I look forward to seeing you all on Monday."

Junior appeared at the door to escort him out of the building, and I collapsed back into the chair.

"So, how'd I do?" I asked the guys.

"Perfect, Steph," Tank replied.

The other guys agreed and gave me soft pats on the shoulder as they left the room to get some work done before heading out for the day.

"You charmed the man and put him completely at ease. That's something that's sometimes hard for us to do because of our size. I don't know if you've noticed," he joked, "but sometimes, we can be rather intimidating."

"You? Never!" I grinned. "Thanks, Tank. It's a great feeling, being able to help bring _in_ money for RangeMan, rather than just cause the company to _bleed_ money. Hey, do you know if Lula's busy tonight? I'm thinking of having a girls' night up on seven. Lula, Connie, Mare, and Val. Dinner from Ella, maybe a movie."

"I think she'd love that, Steph. She doesn't get to see you as much now that you're here full-time, so I know she misses you."

"Great. I'll go give them all a call. Thanks, big guy."

I went back to my cubicle and picked up the phone to call the girls.

"Hey, Lu, this is Steph. You up for a girls' night in at RangeMan tonight? Dinner from Ella, and maybe a movie? I can have one of the guys come pick you up and then take you home after."

"Girl, that'd be great! My man is workin' tonight, so I was gonna sit at home alone. What time?" Lula asked.

"Let's say Cal will pick you up around six thirty. I'll have Ella get dinner ready for us at seven. Ask Connie for me, too. Tell her she's invited..."

There was a muffled conversation, and then Lula was back. "Connie said she'd be there, Steph."

"Great! See you tonight," I told her before hanging up from our short conversation.

My conversations with Mary Lou and Val didn't take much time, either. Both of them were excited about having a girls' night in and said they would be here shortly after six thirty, when Cal picked them up.

Next, I called Ella.

"Hello, Stephanie, dear. How can I help you?" her quiet voice asked.

"Hi, Ella. Would it be a big hassle to make dinner for me and the girls tonight? I invited Lula, Mary Lou, Connie, and Val over for dinner and a movie tonight at six thirty. I was thinking dinner could be at seven. I know it's short notice, so if you don't have the time or anything available to make, I can order pizza."

"No, that would be fine," she assured me in her warm voice. "I'll make you girls something special for dessert, as well. It will all be there at seven o'clock tonight."

"Thank you, Ella! You're a gem!" I told her.

"You're welcome, Stephanie. See you at seven."

I hung up the phone and checked my watch. Time for one more search before heading upstairs.

An hour and a half later, I had changed into sweatpants and a T-shirt and called Ranger to let him know that I would call him when my impromptu girls' night was over.

Shortly after, I opened the door to find all the girls on the other side. I let them in and everyone kicked their shoes off near the door. We made our way to the living room, sat down on the couch and chairs, and talked until Ella knocked and walked in with dinner.

"Oooh, girl," Lula called as we sat down. "Homemade fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob with garlic butter, and biscuits? Where can I get me one of these Ella women?"

I laughed. "I ask her almost every day if she'll adopt me. She just laughs."

As we ate, everyone caught everyone else up with their lives.

Mare told us a story about one of Lenny's cousins; she was getting married and making her whole family, including Lenny, miserable.

Val told us about one of Albert's latest clients, a guy who had been charged with public nudity and indecency when he stripped and walked into an automatic car wash. We laughed until we cried at the images that popped up in our heads.

Lula talked about her latest trip to the mall, and we all cried foul when she started to describe Tank's reaction to her latest find from Victoria's Secret.

The best laugh of the night went to Connie, who told us the latest about Vinnie. It seemed the last time Joyce visited, she was carrying a large bag. Ten minutes later, squeals and grunts could be heard coming from behind the closed door, and those were just from Joyce herself!

I didn't have a funny story, so I just told them Ranger would be back in about two weeks. They all asked if I planned to tell him I loved him. I admitted I was going to, yes. They screamed and asked if I thought he loved me, as well. When I said I wasn't sure, they all looked knowingly at each other.

After we finished eating, I grabbed dessert from the fridge. Ella had made chocolate mousse with a whipped cream topping. I gave us each a bowl and we made our way into the living room. After popping the _Ocean's Eleven_ DVD in, I sat down beside Lula and Mare on the couch. We'd all agreed that this was one of the best displays of male specimens in the last few years. We settled in to watch the sexy George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, and Don Cheadle.

When the movie ended, I hugged them all and called down to the control room to get an escort for them out of the building and to drive them home. Then I gathered up all our bowls and dumped them into the sink with the rest of the dinner dishes.

When the dishes were done and the apartment settled for the night, I headed to the bedroom to call Ranger. I'd had a great day and couldn't wait to share it with him. Hopefully, he had good news for me about coming home, too!


	13. Chapter 13: And Another

_Warning for lemony goodness._

~oOo~

**Chapter 13: And Another...  
Ranger's POV**

I was stretched out on the bed when the phone rang. "Babe," I said quietly.

"Hi, Batman," she replied. "How was your day?"

"It was great, Babe. Even better now." I couldn't help the smile on my face as I heard her voice. "How was your night with the girls?"

"It was a lot of fun!"

She explained about the movie—which I knew was one of her favorite go-to movies to watch with her friends—and Ella's dinner, and I laughed out loud at the stories the girls had all told.

"Yeah, they left with Cal about thirty minutes ago, so I grabbed a shower before calling. I hope that was okay."

"It's fine, Babe. I'm glad you had a good time. How'd the rest of your day go?"

"We pulled in a big new client today who requested that I be his RangeMan contact. I felt great after the meeting, like I was really helping out."

"That's great! Proud of you, Babe." Again, my smile was automatic in response to her obvious excitement and happiness.

"What about you? Tell me about your day," she insisted.

"We got them, Babe. I found the proof we needed—a witness and a paper trail—to put the two of them away for the murder of Christoph Harris. Janice is charged with conspiracy-to-commit murder and the murder of her husband. Harper is charged with the same, along with the embezzlement charges for stealing the money from RangeMan."

"Ranger, that's great! I mean, it isn't great that they did it, but it's great that you found the proof you needed. I'm so proud of you! Does that mean you get to come home soon?"

My heart squeezed when she said she was proud of me. Imagine, my sweet, innocent Babe, proud of the big, bad mercenary. _Dios, I love this woman._

"It's just a matter of getting Jackson, the new man in charge, settled in. So by this time two weeks from now, I should be home."

I heard her breath catch. "That's fantastic. I—um, we've all missed you a lot. Things haven't been the same since you left."

"I've missed you all, too," I replied softly, knowing who I really missed was my Babe. "I can't wait to come home. I need to touch you. To feel you wrapped around me. _Dios,_ Babe. It's all I dream about. What are you wearing, Stephanie?" My voice was deep and husky.

She took a deep breath before answering. "I never put anything on after my shower, Carlos."

I growled low in my chest. "Babe, we match."

She giggled. "Maybe we should take advantage of that, Batman."

"Fuck, do you know what the sound of your voice does to me?"

She gulped audibly and whispered, "No..."

"I'm instantly hard, Babe, just like I am now. The thought of my face being buried between your thighs is nearly enough to make me come. When I think about being buried in your tight heat, I have to squeeze myself to keep it from being over way too soon."

She moaned. "Carlos, I'm so wet for you right now. I've got two fingers inside me and it feels so good. I want you here so much. I want you instead of my fingers."

"_Dios,_ Stephanie! Fuck yourself for me, Babe. Circle your clit with your thumb, but don't touch it yet. I don't want you to come until I say so."

She whimpered and breathed out hard. "Okay, I won't. God, Carlos! I'm so tight. I want more."

"Add another finger, Babe. Stroke your pussy like I'm stroking my dick right now. My hand is your pussy, and I'm sliding in and out of it, all the way to the base. Long, slow strokes, Babe. Keep circling your clit with your thumb." She moaned loudly this time, making me groan. "Take your fingers out of your pussy now and bring them up to your lips. I want you to taste yourself and tell me how good you taste."

I heard her whimper as she removed her fingers from her pussy. When I heard the slurp of her tongue and lips on her fingers, I squeezed my dick hard, very nearly exploding in an orgasm. "_Dios,_ Stephanie! That's so hot," I cried, my voice husky with desire. "How do you taste, Babe?"

"I taste like pure need, Carlos. Like every desire I have for you is concentrated in the juices coming out of me and coating my fingers. I want you to make love to me so badly that I'm aching for you."

I couldn't stop myself. I needed to hear her come. "Stephanie, put your fingers back in your pussy now. Thrust them hard. Use your thumb on your clit, Babe. I need to hear you. I need to hear you scream my name when you can't hold back anymore."

She cried out loudly when she thrust her fingers back in, and almost immediately, she began screaming my name. "Carlos! Fuck!"

I began stroking my dick hard and fast, squeezing every few strokes to heighten my pleasure.

"Keep thrusting in and out, Babe. Keep your thumb moving on your clit. I'm getting close, and I want you to come again so I can come with you."

"I—I don't know if I can handle it... My clit's so sensitive!" she cried.

"Do it, Babe. You can do it. Think of me."

Not a minute later, she came again, flying over the edge, and this time, I didn't hold myself back. I tucked the phone into my shoulder and reached down with my other hand to squeeze my balls hard, stroking the sensitive skin just behind them. I flew over the edge with Stephanie, my hot come shooting high into the air and coming back to land in a string and a puddle on my chest and stomach.

"_Dios,_ Babe! Hearing you orgasm makes me come so hard. You're so damn sexy, Stephanie."

There was no sound for the next few minutes besides our heavy breathing and a few whimpers from her as she calmed down from her orgasm. Finally, she whispered, "Thank you, Carlos. That was the perfect ending to a fantastic day."

"It was my pleasure," I told her honestly. "It's late; we should get some sleep. I'll call you tomorrow night, Babe. Remember, only two more weeks."

"I'll be here waiting for your call, Carlos, and I'll be waiting to see you in two weeks."

"Goodnight, Babe," I whispered.

"Goodnight, Batman," she said softly before hanging up the phone.

I put down the phone and went to clean myself up before I could go to bed. After my nightly phone conversations with my Babe, it was becoming routine, one I wouldn't change even if I could.


	14. Chapter 14: Admissions

_Warning for lemony goodness._

~oOo~

**Chapter 14: Admissions  
Two Weeks Later  
****Ranger's POV**

I closed my eyes briefly when my plane touched down in Trenton. It had been ten weeks since I'd left for Boston, and a lot had changed. Most of the changes had occurred in my heart and in my relationship with Stephanie. Before leaving, I'd known I had feelings for her, although I hadn't admitted them aloud or really acted on them. Over the last two and a half months, though, those feelings had intensified, and now I knew with certainty that I loved her. No "in my own way," as I'd stupidly told her in the past. Nothing holding me back. Not only did I love her, but I was _in love_ with her. All that was left to do was to tell her. I wasn't sure how I planned to do that, but I had an idea. First though, I needed to get to RangeMan and see her.

I climbed off the plane and saw Tank standing there beside the Cayenne. "Hey, man, thanks for picking me up. I wanted my being home to be a surprise for Steph," I told him.

"No worries," he said, clapping my shoulder once. "She and Santos are out picking up skips. We should have a couple of hours to finish her office with the stuff you had delivered before she gets back."

"Great. Let's go, then," I said, climbing into the driver's seat.

As I drove away from the airport, Tank asked, "So Boston's all secure?" At my nod, he continued. "Anything more on Harper?"

I shook my head. "He's in custody, as is the widow. Both are awaiting trial on murder and conspiracy to commit. Jackson moved up the ladder, replacing Harper. Being second-in-command made it easy for him to slip into the top spot, and the rest of the guys already respect him. He'll be fine."

"Good. Well, all of us are gonna be glad you're back. I know Lula will be..." He laughed. "She was complaining the other night about not seeing me as much. I have a date planned for this Friday, and we may not make it out of the house all weekend," he said with a smirk.

"You give me until then, and I promise to not call this weekend. I'll have some plans of my own with Steph, if I have anything to say about it," I said, grinning back at him.

He laughed. "Somehow, I don't think she'll have an issue with that." He grew serious. "She's worked hard, Carlos. She's still the Bombshell we all know and love, but something's changed. She's more serious about her job and all it entails. She mentioned at the beginning of all her training that it was about time she grew up, and from what I can see, she has."

I sat silently for several minutes and then glanced at him. "I just hope she hasn't grown away from me."

Tank was saved from replying when we pulled into the RangeMan garage.

I grabbed my bag from the back and then we walked together to the elevator. Tank went to his office while I grabbed the keys he'd left for me on my desk, and then I headed up the stairs to seven. Dropping the bag in the bedroom, I looked around. Little pieces of Steph's life were scattered around the room, leaving me with an odd, warm sensation low in my belly. A T-shirt hanging over the back of the chair, a book left on the pillow, a bottle of fingernail polish on the nightstand—none of it looked out of place.

I called down to the control room and asked to speak to Cal. When he came on the line, I made my request.

"Yo. Meet me at Steph's cubical in ten. Need your help with some things."

"Got it, boss," he said before hanging up.

I took the paperwork from my bag, made sure the keys from Tank were in my pocket, and then headed back down to five. Nodding at the guys in the break and control rooms, I walked down the hall to Steph's cube after grabbing an empty box from the hallway.

Cal was already waiting for me.

"Hey, I need some help finishing up Steph's office before she gets back. Grab her computer and follow me."

I gathered up her few personal items from the top of the desk—a picture of her family from last Christmas, another of us outside the bonds office, the coffee mug I'd given her that said "Bond Enforcement Agents Do It Better" with a pair of handcuffs attached to the o in Do, and an empty water bottle.

When I opened the drawer, I found her purse, some spare makeup and hair ties, and a little stuffed Batman doll I'd never seen before. Picking it up, I found a note attached and couldn't resist reading.

~oOo~

_Even when he's far away, he'll always be near._

_Lula_

~oOo~

My heart jumped to my throat and I quickly put the doll into the box I was carrying. I couldn't take the time now to ponder what it might mean. Emptying the rest of the drawers, I waited until Cal had gathered up the computer, and then we headed down to Steph's new office, which was right across the hall from mine and down a bit from Tank's. I unlocked the door, flipped on the light, and moved out of Cal's way so he could set her computer down on the new desk I'd had delivered.

I set the box down and looked around. Everything looked perfect. The supple leather couch was a deep red and stood out against the cream-colored walls. The desk, filing cabinets, and bookshelf were a dark wood tone that went well with both. The new office chair that sat behind the desk was guaranteed to make her work more comfortable. I glanced around and saw the pictures I'd had printed and framed standing up against the wall by the couch. That was my big project—figuring out where to put them and hanging them myself.

Walking over, I began sorting through them. I picked up my favorite and moved to hang it right above her bookshelf, where she'd see it while sitting at her desk. I carefully hung the other pictures on the wall and then unloaded the rest of her things from the box. I put the Batman doll up on the bookshelf so she could see it, made sure the computer was all hooked up, and then grabbed the name plate off the desk to secure it to her door.

Turning off the lights, I grabbed the box and locked her door. I walked across to my office and tossed the box into the corner. One of the keys Tank had given me went onto my key chain, and the other went to my desk to give Steph when she returned. Knowing there was nothing else I could do, I turned my computer on and started catching up on business I'd missed while I was gone.

Two hours later, I heard her voice coming from down the hall, joking with Santos about him being the one to step in it this time. He grumbled something about going to his apartment, and then it was quiet for a minute.

I watched for her, but before she even appeared, I heard her gasp. Suddenly, her footsteps quickened, and there she was, standing in the doorway to my office. I stood up, but before I could move from behind the desk, she ran over to me and flung herself into my arms.

"Carlos! You're back!"

My arms moved automatically around her to steady her and I pressed my lips to her temple.

"I am, Babe," I said softly, pulling her even closer.

She tried to pull me over to the couch. "Come on, Batman. Come sit and tell me about the trip home."

"Not yet, Steph. Come with me. I need to show you something." I took her hand and pulled her to me, wrapping my arm around her waist as I walked her out of the office to the door across the hall.

She looked at me with questions in her eyes until she turned her head and saw the name on the door.

"Ranger?" her voice squeaked.

"Yeah, Babe. It's yours." I pressed the key into her hand. "Go ahead, open the door."

With shaking hands, she moved to unlock it. When she had it open and had turned on the lights, she took a step forward and then stopped. I pushed her forward gently and closed the door behind me, wrapping my arms around her from behind to steady her.

"The new job demands a new office, Babe. You're management now. You deserve this."

She turned her head to look up at me. "When did you do this?"

"The guys have been secretly working on it for a while now—painting the walls, moving in the furniture I picked out and had delivered, that type of thing. Cal and I finished moving in your computer and personal things this morning while you and Lester were out. I hung the pictures myself."

She moved out of my arms to explore the office. "Ranger, the furniture's beautiful!" Walking around the chairs in front of her desk, she sank down onto the couch. "Geez, Louise! This is more comfortable than my old bed!" Without looking at me, I heard her mutter, "Although not more comfortable than yours."

"Babe." I grinned at her, amused at her ability to speak out loud without realizing it.

"Damn ESP," she grumbled.

I laughed. "No ESP, Steph. You said that one out loud." I walked over and pulled her up and into my arms, my lips brushing against hers softly. "Come on, check everything out."

I pulled her to the first picture.

"Oh, Ranger, it's beautiful! The beach at Point Pleasant is always so gorgeous. This is from my favorite thinking spot, isn't it? I can tell by where the rocks are on the right."

"This one, I had Tank take for me when he went over there last week. I told him exactly where to stand to get the right shot. I'm glad you like it," I whispered into her ear, feeling her shiver as my breath moved across her ear.

I moved her around to the other side of the desk. "Remember this place?" I asked, pointing to the next picture.

"The diner! Professor Higgins, what a thoughtful picture," she said softly.

"My pleasure, Eliza." I smiled, watching her beautiful face as she looked at the picture.

Finally, I guided her around the desk again. I sat down in her chair and pulled her onto my lap. Turning so we were facing across the room, I saw her look up at the last picture—the one that meant the most to me.

"Oh! Look at the stars! Where'd you get this one?"

"I took it, Babe. Five weeks ago in Boston, the night I realized I'd fallen in love with you," I said quietly.

She whipped her head around to look me in the eyes. "You...You love me?"

"Babe, I've loved you almost since the first time I laid eyes on you. I realized while I was gone that all my reservations, all my worries...they meant nothing anymore. All that mattered to me was you. I'm _in love with you,_ Stephanie. You are my life now."

Tears welled up in her eyes, and I brought my thumbs up to brush them away softly.

"Oh, Carlos!" she whispered. "I've waited so long to hear you say that. I've loved you for so long. I knew before you left that I was in love with you, but I didn't want to risk our friendship by telling you then."

With a groan, I kissed her, one hand moving up to tangle in her curls while the other wrapped around her waist, pulling her body and lips tighter to mine.

She whimpered against my mouth as she felt my cock stirring in my pants beneath her. She began rocking her hips, forcing our clothed bodies to rub against one another. After several minutes of the heaven we'd wrapped ourselves in, she moved her mouth from mine to my ear and whispered, "I want you, Carlos. Right here, right now."

I moved my hand from the back of her head and lifted her to her feet. "Pants off now," I growled softly, pulling my dick out of my cargoes.

I moved everything to the sides of the desk, leaving a spot in the middle clear. As soon as she had her pants off, I grabbed her and lifted her up onto the desk. I positioned her at the edge and drove my cock forward until I was buried completely inside her.

Sliding one arm underneath her shoulders to pull her harder to me, I braced the other on her thigh to keep her there. We were both acting purely on animal instinct, letting the need for each other that had built up over the last two and a half months consume us. I knew the time for tenderness would come later. All I could think about now was claiming her as mine.

We were breathing hard and Steph was beginning to tremble. I knew her release would come soon, so I drove into her harder and faster with every thrust.

"_Dios,_ Babe!" I growled quietly.

Using the hand behind her back, I pulled her almost upright. My other hand slid down between our bodies to where we were joined, and I rolled her clit as I bit down gently where her neck met her shoulder. With a cry, she clenched around me as she flew over the edge.

Hearing my name fall from her lips as she squeezed around my cock made my balls tighten, and I couldn't hold back my release.

"_Tu__es mi corazón, mi vida, mi alma,_" I said, my voice rough, before claiming her mouth. I'd never been more sure of anything than when I told her she was my heart, my life, and my soul.

Until her trembling began to slow down and she was barely clenching around my softening cock, I continued to move in her. Finally, I picked her up and sat down in her chair, pulling her with me so I was cradling her in my arms.

"I love you, Babe." The words had never come easier than they did in that moment.

"And I, you, Carlos," she murmured as she wrapped her arms around me.

We stayed like that for almost ten minutes before we heard a knock on the door.

"Beautiful. Boss. You guys decent?" Lester's voice called. "We wanna see the office!"

"Five minutes," I shouted, standing Steph on her feet so she could grab her pants.

We heard laughing outside the door as we hurriedly got dressed so we could finally let in the wolves.


	15. Chapter 15: Eternity

_Warning for lemony goodness._

~oOo~

**Chapter 15: Eternity  
Two Months Later  
Stephanie's POV**

I woke up to the feel of lips placing soft kisses on my collarbone. I pried my eyes open to find myself staring into the most gorgeous pair of chocolate brown eyes I'd ever seen. He suckled the skin below my ear, making me moan.

"Carlos..."

His eyes darkened as he moved to my mouth, kissing me softly before whispering, "Good morning, _querida._"

He slipped his tongue between my lips, softly brushing mine as his hands moved up my arms to cup my face. He continued to worship my lips for a few minutes, and just when I thought I was going to combust with need, he began kissing his way back down my collarbone to my shoulder. I shivered as he left damp trails over my skin.

Nibbling and licking his way down to my breast, he then flicked the already-puckered nipple a few times before sucking it between his lips, causing it to tighten even further. His hand moved to my other breast, palming the weight and then tweaking the nipple, and I began to squirm under his attention.

Scraping his teeth lightly against my nipple, he moved down my stomach, his tongue dipping into my navel and swirling around once before continuing down. I shivered as he reached my hips, where he bit down once on the sensitive skin above my center. He purred low in his throat at my reaction, his tongue darting out to soothe the sting.

He used one hand to hold my hips down, dipped his head, and then I felt his tongue slowly stroke from the bottom to the top of my lower lips, circling my clit, but not touching it. I whimpered, trying to force my hips up to his mouth, but his hand was holding me still.

He buried his face between my thighs and began feasting as if I was his last meal. His tongue was both rough and smooth as he stroked me. When he sucked one of my lips into his mouth, my hips jerked up hard enough that I pushed his hand up with them, and he growled against me.

"Hold still," he said softly before thrusting his tongue deep inside me.

He licked and tasted as I whimpered, my hands fisting the sheets below me until my knuckles were white. Every few thrusts, his tongue came out and flicked my clit. My body tensed, right on the edge of falling apart, and when he moved his fingers up to roll my clit, I cried out as I came.

Before I could come down from my orgasm, Ranger slid up and was inside me as far as he could go, our hips meeting. I cried out again as he filled me completely. We began to move in harmony, slow and smooth. No words were necessary for many long minutes as our bodies did the talking for us. Finally, the feelings were too much and we flew together over the edge into the abyss.

The sensations were overwhelming, and the next thing I knew, Ranger was stroking my cheek with a worried look on his face, whispering over and over in Spanish. The only thing I understood was I love you, but it was enough to make me feel even more amazing.

I opened my eyes to find him looking down at me worriedly. "I'm okay, Carlos. That was..." My voice faltered for a moment. "That was amazing."

"Marry me, Stephanie. However you want to, whenever you want to. Invite the entire 'Burg, invite no one. Ring, no ring. Wear a dress, wear shorts. Wear nothing." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at me for a second. "But please, Babe. Make me the happiest man alive and be my wife."

I watched, my eyes growing wide, as he reached behind his back to grab a box off the nightstand. Opening it, he pulled out the most gorgeous sapphire and diamond ring I'd ever seen.

"I know it isn't a normal engagement ring. I figured neither of us is the traditional type, but Stephanie, if you want, we'll go and pick out the most traditional diamond ring the 'Burg has ever seen. I don't care what you wear, or even if you wear it, as long as you agree to—"

His words were cut off as I pulled his mouth to mine.

When I pulled away, I whispered, "An eternity band is perfect, Carlos: an eternity is how long I will love you. Please, never doubt that my answer is yes."

He swallowed hard and took my hand, slipping the ring from the box and onto my finger.

"Would you really not mind if it's just us, Tank, and Lula?" I asked him.

"No, Babe. If that's what you want, it'll be perfect."

"I, um, also don't see any reason to wait. Do you? Just a simple dress and suit, maybe out of town so the gossipers don't spread it before we get home."

"How about this. Do you trust me to make the plans so it can be kept quiet until _we_ are ready and so that it'll be just the way _we_ want it?" he asked.

"You know I do," I replied.

"Good. Now, you can wear the ring or not. It's your choice. If you want to wait, we'll put it in the safe until then."

I thought for a minute and slipped the ring onto my right ring finger. "I want to. This way, I can wear it without too many questions. Is that okay?"

He kissed me long and hard on the lips and then once lightly on both ring fingers. "That's perfect, Babe."

~oOo~

Four hours later, the phone on my desk rang. "Yo," I said, giggling. I could tell from the light on the phone that it was Ranger calling.

"Babe," he said, chuckling.

I looked across the hall at him through our open doors and grinned, giving him a finger wave.

He smiled and said, "Come here, Steph."

I hung up the phone and crossed the hall. Walking over to give him a kiss, I then started to move around to sit in the chair across from his desk. Instead, he pulled me down to his lap and picked up the phone.

"Yo, my office."

Two minutes later, Tank walked in.

"Shut the door," Ranger said to him.

"Boss?"

"Sit down, man. We have some news." He waited until Tank was seated and then continued, "I asked Steph to marry me, and she said yes."

"That's great." He smiled, his teeth bright against his dark skin. "Am I the first to know? Have you set a date? Oh man, Lula's going to flip! I don't even want to think about Santos! Or Morelli!"

I laughed. "Tank, calm down, big guy! Let him finish." I looked up at Ranger.

"Steph and I have agreed that until we're married, we want it to stay a secret. We want it to be just the two of us, you, and Lula, and as long as Steph agrees, we want to be married this coming weekend."

We both looked at him—Tank with surprise in his eyes, and me with love.

"This weekend?" Tank asked Ranger, looking from him to me and back.

Watching me, Ranger said, "I thought we'd all go to New York City on Saturday morning, and Steph and I would get married Sunday. We'll tell Lula it's just a weekend trip to see the sights and a show or two. We'll wait to tell her the truth until we're out of Trenton, or she'll have it all over the 'Burg before we hit the edge of town."

I smiled and then leaned up and kissed him softly. "Sounds perfect, Ranger. Thank you."

"If that's what you both want, why not?" Tank said, grinning at us both again. "Are you going to tell the guys?"

"I think we need to tell Bobby and Lester so they know how to contact us, since they'll be the ones in charge for the days we're both gone," Ranger answered. "That okay with you, Babe?"

"Sure, sure. It's fine."

~oOo~

**Saturday Morning**

We were finally on our way to New York City after picking up Lula, and I knew it was time to let her in on our big surprise.

"Lula, promise you won't squeal too loudly," I said, moving my ring to the correct finger. "Ranger asked me to marry him, and that's why we're going to New York. We're going to get married tomorrow."

She squealed loudly and hugged me as best she could from beside me in the limo. "Skinny-ass white girl! Why didn't you tell me sooner? And why are you doing it like this?"

"Lu, if I'd gotten married in town, my wishes would have been lost along the way. My mother would have taken over, it would have turned into a huge affair, and the gossip mill would've had a field day with it. I just wanted to keep it simple—keep it about Ranger and me, not the 'Burg. As to why I didn't tell you sooner? You know as well as I do that the minute I'd told you, you'd have been on the phone and it would've been spread around in a matter of minutes," I said, giving her a friendly nudge.

She looked sheepish. "I guess you're right," she said, grinning. "So what's the plan?"

I looked at Ranger, who was holding a conversation in a low voice with Tank. "Well, I'm not sure exactly what we're doing today, but tomorrow morning, Ranger and I will go to the courthouse and get married. We're hoping you and Tank will stand up for us as witnesses. Then I guess we come back home tomorrow after lunch."

At that point, Ranger looked over at us and said, "Today, you and Lula are going to get pampered. Get your hair and nails done, go shopping for some new clothes and shoes, whatever else your heart desires. Then tonight, we're all going to go out to dinner and dancing at a place called SOB's. It's a Latin dance club with great food. What we do after is a surprise. Sound good?"

Lula and I looked at each other and shrugged.

"Why not? Sounds fun," I told him with a grin.

We spent the almost three hours of the trip talking about where we wanted to shop. We finally decided on Saks, Bloomingdale's, and Christian Louboutin for shoes. For our hair and nails, we would go to Ted Gibson. We'd both heard great things about him, and since Ranger was paying and it was my wedding, we wanted to go all out.

When we got to New York, we stopped first at the Paramount Hotel, where Ranger had already made reservations. After checking in, we went down to the Mezzanine Restaurant for lunch. Lula and I both had a huge club sandwich with mayo, bacon, and gobs of meats and cheeses. Tank and Ranger had some sort of noodle dish. Tank went with a southern variation, covered in peppers and onions. Ranger had an Asian dish, with crispy noodles, some peas, and lots of other veggies I couldn't identify. We all agreed the food was delicious, and while we waited for our food to digest, we sat back to make a plan of action.

"Since we're in the middle of Times Square," Ranger suggested, "why don't we take a walk and just look around for a few minutes before you ladies go shopping?"

Lula and I looked at each other and nodded. We were both dressed comfortably, so we didn't even need to go back up to the room. After Ranged signed the bill to the room, the four of us headed out the door. We spent half an hour just walking around, people and billboard watching. It was so much fun, just relaxing with Ranger, Lula, and Tank.

At one store, I stopped everyone. "Let's go in there," I said, pointing to Toys R Us. "I can get something for Mary Lou's and Val's kids, and we can buy something for Julie, too."

We went inside and split up. Ranger and Tank went to find something for Julie, and Lula and I went to get gifts for the other kids. We finally met up at the checkout lines, and Ranger pulled out his credit card while we loaded the pile of gifts onto the checkout counter. Three hundred dollars and an hour after we'd arrived, we left the store, our arms loaded down with bags.

"Why don't we stop by the hotel and drop these off, and then you can take the car to go shopping? I have a special escort waiting at the hotel to go with you so you can relax and Tank and I won't worry. We'll go work out at a gym somewhere and meet up with you at the hotel again later to get ready for dinner."

That sounded perfect to us, although I couldn't help but wonder who was waiting in the hotel.

"C'mon," I pleaded, giving Ranger my best puppy dog eyes.

He laughed, shaking his head. "Sorry, Babe. You'll just have to wait and see."

I grumped playfully and took his arm, giving it a squeeze as we stepped up beside Tank and Lula.

We spent another thirty minutes, enjoying the sites as we walked back to the hotel. Neither Lula nor I had a clue as to who was waiting for us inside.


	16. Chapter 16: Dinner, Dancing, and More

_Warning for lemony goodness._

~oOo~

**Chapter 16: Dinner, Dancing, and More  
Stephanie's POV**

After our early afternoon of shopping and sightseeing, we finally made it back to the hotel to drop off our bags before Lula and I went shopping. When we got inside, a familiar face met us near the elevators.

"Les!" I laughed as he put his arms around me and whirled me in a circle. "Put me down, you goof!"

"Santos, put my bride down unless you want to come up missing two arms," Ranger growled.

"Bride?" He grabbed my hand, noticing the new finger for my ring. "Did you get married?"

I shook my head. "Tomorrow. You will stay, won't you?"

"You know I will, Beautiful. I wouldn't miss it for the world." He finally looked around. "Tank. Boss. Hi, Lula. Enjoying New York City so far?"

She grinned. "I'll be enjoying a lot more when we hit up the stores!"

We all laughed.

"Then let's get going," I said.

Lester moved away from the group to call the limo driver.

While I waited, I went to the concierge desk to look up addresses for the stores and salon. When Les motioned to us, I kissed Ranger, handed him the bag I was carrying, and gave Tank a finger wave. After Lula kissed Tank goodbye, the three of us left the hotel.

~oooOOOooo~

**Ranger's POV**

Tank and I watched Santos walk the ladies out. Once they'd climbed into the limo, I turned to my oldest friend with a determined look on my face.

"Okay, Tank, time to call in the troops. I'm planning a huge surprise for Steph, and I need your help. While I go over my list, can you call the airport and get the plane ready to bring up approximately nine people tonight?" I gave him a time, but said it would probably be an hour later, so to tell the pilot.

"Got it, Boss."

We walked to the elevators and rode up to the suite in comfortable silence. Tank headed to the couch with his cell to his ear as I sat down at the small table, pulling the pad of paper and pen across to myself. I began making notes of who I needed to call, dialing a familiar phone number from memory.

"Hello?" a man's voice answered.

"Hi, Frank. This is Carlos."

"How are you, Carlos?"

"I'm good, thank you. Great, actually. I asked Stephanie to marry me last night, and she accepted."

"Congratulations! Welcome to the family, son."

I smiled. I'd always liked Frank. He was a great supporter of my Babe's, even though he was normally silent in his approach.

"Thank you, sir. I'm actually calling not just to tell you that, but also to let you know we're in New York City and are getting married in the morning. I hope you'll understand why we decided to do it this way. Stephanie's the one that was worried about getting the wedding done the way she wanted it and not the way anyone else wanted it." I realized I was babbling and quickly shut my mouth.

"Carlos, it's completely understandable." He laughed. "It doesn't surprise me at all that my baby girl came up with that idea. Thank you for calling and letting me know."

"Actually, sir, there's another reason I'm calling. Stephanie believes that it will be just the two of us, along with our friends Tank and Lula, going to the courthouse tomorrow, but I've planned out a surprise for her. We're actually getting married in the park. My family is flying up tonight, and I was calling to see if you, your wife, and mother-in-law, as well as Valerie and Albert, could come up tonight for the ceremony tomorrow. My plane will be ready for you all anytime between six o'clock and seven tonight. I'll be calling Mary Lou and Lenny, as well as another of my men and Connie from the bonds office to fly up at the same time. All of the guests, as well as the location, are a secret for Stephanie."

His voice sounded choked up when he answered. "That's a great idea, Carlos. You can count the three of us in, as well as Val and Albert, I'm sure."

"Thank you, sir. Stephanie really doesn't want you all to miss it, I know. It'll mean a lot to have you here. Could I ask you a favor, please?"

"All you have to do is name it," Frank told me.

"Because of how well the 'Burg gossip mill works, is there some way you can get your wife and mother-in-law on the plane without telling them why you're leaving? If you're up in the air when you tell them why you're coming to New York City, you can make sure they understand that Stephanie would like it kept under wraps until we get back and do the announcing ourselves."

"Of course!" He laughed. "I'm well aware of how fast that news would spread. Consider it done. I'll have to tell Albert so he can make arrangements for the girls, but he won't have a problem keeping it from Valerie until we're on the way to the city."

"Great. Pack for a couple of nights. I'll have the plane fly everyone back on Sunday. Thank you, sir."

When he answered, his voice was much more quiet. "Thank you, Carlos. You make my daughter very happy. I can't begin to thank you enough for that."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Frank."

I hung up the phone, realizing I had a lump in my throat. Swallowing hard, I turned my attention back to the paper in front of me.

I needed to contact Mary Lou and ask if she and Lenny could make arrangements for their kids. I didn't doubt that she could keep the news to herself for Stephanie's sake, so that wasn't going to be an issue. Finally, I needed to call Bobby. Hal could run RangeMan until Sunday night when Bobby got back. I would put Bobby in charge of explaining to Connie what was going on and getting her packed and to the plane without calling anyone to spread the news.

Satisfied that everyone who needed to be here would be, I tore the paper out, threw it away, and then slid my phone back into my pocket and went to watch TV with Tank.

~oooOOOooo~

**Stephanie's POV**

Lester led us out of the hotel and directed us to the door of the waiting limo. We got in and I gave the driver the directions to the first store. Once we'd exhausted the shopping possibilities at Bloomingdale's, we headed to Saks. We hit the jackpot there and loaded Les down with bag after bag. That left shoes. Christian Louboutin was not far from Saks, so we put the bags in the car and headed there on foot. I spent way too much money on three pairs of FMPs, and Lula grabbed two for herself. As we left the store and climbed into the waiting limo, Lula and I looked at each other.

"Vicky's?" I asked her.

She grinned. "You know it! You have to get some new stuff for tomorrow night! Can't let Batman see you in the same old things."

I dug out my cell phone and called directory assistance for the address of the closest Victoria's Secret. I spent more money there than I had at Bloomingdale's, much to Lester's amusement. The best was the red bustier, bikini panties, and black thigh-high stockings with garter belt.

"Girl, Batman ain't going to know what hit him," Lula crowed.

"That's the idea," I said, grinning.

I looked at Lester. "Eyes back in your head, Les. Wipe the drool off your chin."

"Damn, Beautiful. I know I've said it before, but Ranger is a lucky bastard."

I laughed and put my arm around his shoulder, giving him a squeeze. "Thanks, Les. Now, time for hair and nails. You going to get a manicure, too?"

"Uh, I, uh..."

"Oh chill, you wuss. You can sit there and wait for us. Better?"

He chuckled. "Well, I was thinking I'd go for the pedicure. After all, my feet have gotten really exhausted and sore schlepping around after the two of you this afternoon!"

We laughed and spent the time over to Ted Gibson's talking about the reactions we thought we'd get from people back home.

"You know your mom is gonna shit a brick," Lula said.

I sighed. "I know, but that's partly why I chose to do it this way. This is about Ranger and me—_not_ about my mother." To Les, I asked, "How do you think the guys will react?"

"They'll just be happy for you both, Steph, honestly. We've all known for years that you were meant for each other, and since Ranger got back from Boston, anyone with doubts would certainly have laid them to rest."

Three hours later, Lula and I had freshly washed, dried, and styled hair and freshly polished fingernails. When we got back to the hotel, Les walked into the suite with us, and we caught the guys hanging out and watching hockey on the TV.

All three of us threw our bags onto the table and flopped down on the couch and floor.

Ranger leaned over and gave me a sweet, tender kiss. "You look beautiful, Babe. Did you buy out the stores?"

I laughed. "Almost. I guarantee you'll like most of what I bought," I said suggestively.

"Oh, I know I will. I spied the little pink bags. Those are definitely your gifts to me." He grinned.

"Later, Batman," I promised, smiling back at him.

A few minutes later, it was time to start getting ready for dinner. Lula and I grabbed the bags with the right dresses and shoes and scooted into my room to change and put on our makeup.

I pulled on a new tiny red thong, but left off a bra because the low-cut dress left me no room for one. Then I slipped the red dress off the hanger. The dress would mold and sculpt itself to my body, falling to above mid-thigh. The small strap sleeves laid just off the shoulders, and the front dipped down low, exposing quite a bit of cleavage. The shoes I'd bought to go with it had four-inch heels, open toes, and two straps that wrapped high around my ankles. The high heels combined with the length of the dress made my legs look a mile long. I knew Ranger would love it.

Lula walked out of the bathroom in black tights with matching three-inch heels and a gorgeous Cassandra Empire Dress. It was a brightly patterned stretch silk in yellow, white, black, and gray and featured three-quarter sleeves, a crossover v-neckline, and drawstring at Empire waist. It fell to just above her knees, flowed around her generous curves, and looked amazing against her skin.

"I still can't get over how amazing that looks, Lu." I smiled as she twirled around, the dress flowing out away from her body slightly.

"You look hot, too, girl," she said passionately, looking me up and down the same way I knew Ranger would.

The thought made me giggle and I turned so I wouldn't make her feel like I was laughing at her.

Grabbing our makeup bags, we went to the bathroom again. We spent fifteen minutes touching up our faces and then headed out to the guys. They'd had their suits in the other room and had dressed while we were getting ready. When we walked into the living room, they look at us and whistled.

"Damn, there's not going to be anyone at the club that looks as good as you two," Lester said, grinning.

Tank nodded, silently moving to Lula.

"You ladies look lovely," Ranger said.

Patting Les on the shoulder as he walked past him on his way to me, Ranger took my hands and stepped back to look at me. His gaze moved from my head to my toes and back up, raking over my body. I had a fleeting thought of being correct in comparing Lula's look to his, but the heat in his gaze did things to my body that Lula's certainly hadn't. Just before Ranger pulled me to him, I saw Tank and Lula in an embrace out of the corner of my eye.

Ranger's arms went around my waist, pulling me tight to him, and he began nuzzling my lips with his. I moaned softly when he pulled away, and he smiled at me, whispering, "Later, Babe. I promise." To the others, he said, "Time to go if we want to get good seats."

We were leaving the room as Ranger called the limo driver on his cell to have him come pick us up at the front of the hotel.

~oOo~

The food and drinks at the club were delicious, but I only had eyes for Ranger. Conversation flowed as much as the drinks did, but finally, we finished eating and decided to split up.

Les took off to find the beautiful girl he'd been flirting with from across the room since we got to the club. The rest of us moved out to the dance floor.

The salsa music moved through our bodies as Ranger pulled me close to him. The music was so sensual, so sexy, that when I closed my eyes, it was like Ranger and I were alone in the room and were making love on the dance floor.

We spent three hours dancing, stopping only once to get fresh drinks and rehydrate ourselves. At midnight, we decided it was time to head back to the hotel. Les said he would catch a cab back, so the four of us left in the limo. When we got back to the suite, we said goodnight and went to our rooms.

Ranger pushed the door to our room shut and turned the lights down low. Picking up the remote from the dresser, he turned on the CD player he'd plugged in earlier. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's _Let's Make Love_ started playing over the speakers as he slipped off his jacket before pulling me to him.

"You looked so beautiful tonight, Babe."

I smiled, slipping my arms around his waist and clutching at his back. "You looked handsome, too," I said, looking up at him. "But then, you always do."

He made a sound deep in his throat and shook his head. I wasn't sure what it meant, but before I could say anything, I looked into his eyes. The emotion I saw there stunned me speechless.

Instead of speaking, I leaned against him as he reached up, pulled the clip of my hair, and then ran his fingers through it until it was falling in loose curls around my shoulders. He tossed the clip to the dresser and fisted his hand in my hair to pull my head up so I was looking into his eyes.

"Stephanie, if I don't tell you enough how sexy you are, that's on me. But if you don't believe it when I do say it, that's on you. You are the most gorgeous woman I've ever laid eyes on. Every time I see you, whether you're covered in garbage or dressed to seduce like you were tonight, I'm blown away." When I tried to turn my head, unaccustomed to the effusive compliments, he tugged my hair gently until I was looking at him again. "It's your eyes, Babe. They light up when you're excited, amused...or aroused. And your smile... _Dios,_ when you smile, it makes everyone else want to smile with you."

His words were going straight from my ears to my heart and then south, and suddenly, I couldn't stand waiting any longer.

"Kiss me," I begged, nearly sobbing with need.

Our mouths touched briefly, once, twice. On the third time, he captured my lips with his, his tongue sliding between my lips to tangle with mine. There was nothing hurried about the kiss. Ranger showed me with every touch of his lips on mine how much he adored me. By the time he kissed his way down my neck to my shoulder, I was nearly boneless, holding onto his shirt as I tried to hold myself up. When he met the strap of my dress, his hands moved to my back to slowly lower the zipper, and then his lips moved back to mine as he pulled the dress down over my arms, letting it fall to the floor around my feet.

He pulled away from me briefly, his eyes darkening to a deep black as he took in my near-naked body.

"Perfect," he whispered before his hands moved to my waist, pulling me to him again.

When I was closer to him, his hands slid down to cup my ass, and he pulled me roughly against the growing bulge in his slacks. He lifted me up and I wrapped my arms around his neck as he carried me over to the bed and laid me down gently.

My body tightened as he kissed his way back down my neck to my chest, his lips trailing up the curve of my breast until they reached the peak. He sucked one hard nipple between his lips, his tongue running circles around it in his mouth. With one hand braced on the bed, he held himself above me. His free hand moved to my other breast, squeezing gently before his fingers found the nipple, pinching and rubbing as he mimicked his tongue on the other side.

When my hips began to move, his mouth and hand left my breasts and began to descend lower on my body. As his hand skimmed my side, his tongue swirled around the outside of my belly button, dipping in a few times before he continued down. His lips brushed the top of my panties, making me whimper.

"Carlos," I said in a soft plea for more.

"Hush, _querida._ There is no rush tonight. I want to take my time and show you how much I love you. Let me love you, Stephanie."

I nodded and he moved his mouth down to press a single kiss to my cloth-covered lower lips before moving to the inner thigh of my right leg. I trembled as he kissed and licked a spot before biting gently, sucking my skin into his mouth. I knew he'd left a mark...which was sexy because I knew he was the only one that would see it.

He continued making a damp trail down my leg, letting his lips, tongue, and teeth take their turns caressing my skin. He reached my foot and kissed the straps of my shoe around my ankle as his hands moved to release the buckle. He pulled my shoe off and tossed it out of the way before using his hands to massage the arch of my foot as he kissed the top of it. I couldn't hold back the moan as he rubbed.

Finally, he carefully set that foot down on the bed and moved over to the other. Again, he kissed my ankle while he undid the buckle, slipping the shoe off my foot and tossing it with the first. He massaged the left foot just as well as he had the right, and when he felt my muscles relax completely, he began the slow trail with his mouth back up my leg, kissing, licking, and nibbling until he reached my inner thigh. He marked my left thigh with his teeth and lips as he had my right before moving back over and placing a single kiss on my lips once again.

This time, though, he moved his hands up and slid a finger under the fabric on each side of my panties.

"Raise your hips, Babe."

When my hips moved up slightly, he slowly pulled them past my bottom, down my legs, and off my feet, tossing them down with the dress on the floor.

He lowered his head and blew softly once across my center, causing me to shiver and cry out in anticipation. Instead of moving to my lips, his mouth landed just above it on my lower belly. Looking up at me under lowered lashes, he took his lips away long enough to growl softly, "Mine."

He moved again to the skin on my lower belly, just above my folds. He kissed once before he sucked the skin between his lips hard, and then his teeth bit down just hard enough to leave impressions. He tongued the spot to take out the sting and immediately moved down until his tongue was stroking my slit.

I was already soaking wet for him, and he lapped at me like he was dying of thirst. He was careful to avoid my clit, which was already hot and throbbing for him. Sucking first one and then the other of my lower lips into his mouth, he teased me with his tongue. Finally, I felt him tickle my hole with the tip before he finally thrust it in as far as he could, his nose and chin buried in my curls. He only moved away for a second when he needed to breathe.

I moaned and tried moving my hips up to force myself harder on his face. He used one hand to hold my hips down and moved a finger on his other hand to my slit. He traced the finger up and down a few times before finally pushing it inside me up to the first knuckle. I cried out, needing more, and he finally decided I'd had enough playing.

As he thrust his finger in all the way, he brought his tongue down on my clit, circling around it until he was licking it over and over again. He pulled his finger out and added two more before thrusting them back in. After several hard and deep thrusts, he bit down gently on my clit, causing me to close my eyes as I came apart at the seams. He kept moving his fingers and lapping at my clit until my shaking began to slow.

I whimpered when he pulled his hand and mouth away from me, moving off the bed. I heard the rustle of fabric and two thumps. Opening my eyes to see him standing there wearing nothing but what God gave him, I slowly raised my hand, my finger curling in a come-hither motion. When he was next to me, I reached up to cup his face with my hands, my thumbs softly stroking his cheeks.

"Make love to me, Carlos. I want you inside me," I whispered.

He didn't need any more encouragement. Turning me on my side to face him, he pressed his lips to mine. He used one hand to lift my top leg, sliding his between mine, and then he entered me slowly, letting us both feel every inch. He gently set my leg down on top of his, causing my pussy to feel even tighter around him. His hands moved to my breasts, gently squeezing, tweaking my nipples, and his mouth found mine. Our tongues danced as our hips moved slowly against one another's in a slow rhythm.

As we made slow, sweet love, Ranger moved his mouth from mine, down to my neck, his tongue lathing the sweet spot where my neck and shoulder met. One of his hands moved between our bodies and found my clit. He began to roll it between his thumb and forefinger as his thrusts sped up. I began panting, finding it hard to catch my breath, and I knew my release was close. He could obviously tell just how close I was, because he pinched my clit and scraped his teeth against the column of my throat. At the rush of painful pleasure, I exploded in an orgasm so intense that I nearly blacked out.

I cried out his name over and over again, feeling like I could barely breathe.

As soon as I began spasming around him, his balls tightened and his cock jerked, spilling himself inside me. "_Mi Dios,_ Stephanie!" The rest of the Spanish was lost on me, yet every word went straight to my heart.

We were so comfortable and felt so complete that neither of us wanted to move. We lay there for what seemed like hours, just staring into each other's eyes, but I knew it was really only minutes. Soon, my eyes began to droop, and with Ranger still inside me, I slept.


	17. Chapter 17: The Big Day

**Chapter 17: The Big Day  
Stephanie's POV**

The next morning came all too fast because of how little sleep we'd gotten. On the other hand, it seemed like it hadn't come fast enough. I was completely ready to become Mrs. Carlos Manoso. I'd never really felt that way about Joe and had certainly not felt anything of the sort with the Dick. Luckily, fate guided us and Ranger was patient, because although it had taken a while, my brain and heart were finally in agreement. I knew that what we were doing today was the right thing for me, and it wasn't tainted by my mom's wishes or the 'Burg's expectations. As Ranger had told me over and over again, that's what truly mattered.

"Morning, Babe," my soon-to-be husband purred as he pulled me closer to him.

My back was flush against his chest and I could feel every hard plane of his body. I reached my hand back to touch his cheek as I turned my head to look up at him.

"Good morning," I said, smiling softly. I looked over at the clock. "What time do we need to leave?"

"We're meeting with the others at ten, so we have about three hours. How long do you need to get ready?"

I twisted around so I was facing him. "I can spare a few minutes," I said mischievously. "Why? Have something in mind?"

His only response was to growl softly and attack my lips with his. Ranger used his magic, and suddenly, my tongue was in his mouth. He began stroking it with his as his hands moved to my face, his thumbs stroking my cheeks as we kissed.

Suddenly, there was a loud pounding on the door. "Yo, Boss. You up yet?"

"Go away, Tank," Ranger growled before returning to my waiting lips.

"No can do, Batman," Lula called. "I gots plans for my girl, Steph. Step away from her or I'll break this door down."

He sighed and broke the kiss again.

I leaned my forehead against his and said, "You know she'd really do it, right?"

Nodding, he yelled, "We'll be right out." To me, he said, "Come on, Babe, time to face the firing squad."

I sighed and gave him one last kiss before crawling out of bed and pulling on my shorts and T-shirt. I waited until Ranger was dressed before heading for the door. He came over to me, wrapped an arm around my waist, and opened it to find Tank and Lula right on the other side. Tank was in his regular black work clothes, but Lula had on a beautiful green dress and her hair and makeup were perfect.

"It's about time, girl! Lookit you! You have three hours until you're supposed to be getting married, and you're a mess! Go! Shower!" She looked at Ranger. "And you! Follow him"—pointing to Tank—"and go do your own thing. Lester promised to get us to where we're supposed to be on time."

He gave her a mock salute and then wrapped me up in a warm embrace. "Babe," he said softly against my lips.

"I love you," I whispered.

Giving me a squeeze, he said, "_Te amo,_ Stephanie." He turned and followed Tank down the hall.

I watched him walk away before turning to Lula.

"Okay, okay, let's get ready. I have a dress I brought with me and—"

Lula's voice cut me off mid-sentence. "Nope, I have a new dress for you. I'll get the clothes ready. You go shower," she demanded.

Laughing, I hurried to the bathroom, took a fast but deliciously hot shower, and then dried myself off. I wrapped my hair and body up in towels and headed out to the bedroom. When I got to the bed, I stopped in my tracks.

"Where in the world did that come from?"

"Ranger specifically asked that you wear it. The shoes are in the box on the floor."

She handed me the new bra and panties set I'd bought specifically for the wedding. The beautiful strapless, ivory lace underwire bra and matching lace panties would go perfectly with the ivory, strapless gown lying across the bed. The gown was tea-length and had a tiered lacy and pearl overlay with a corset back. It wasn't fancy, but it was still absolutely stunning. Beside it was a simple wrap and matching purse. I picked up the box and opened it to find a pair of ivory strappy sandals.

"Flats? No heels?"

She shrugged. "This is what Ranger picked out, so this is what you're going to wear, right?"

I nodded. "Right." I dropped the towel from around my body and pulled on the panties and bra. "Come help with my hair and makeup?"

She led me to the bathroom and pulled out the padded seat from under the makeup counter. I pulled the towel off my head and let Lula take the comb from my hand. She turned on the big curling iron she'd set on the counter and then carefully picked through my curls, detangling them. When it was combed through, she put some anti-frizz spray and gel on it and picked up the blow dryer. She spent twenty minutes getting it dry and then used the curling iron to tame some of the wayward curls. After getting all the right amount of curly, she pulled a small wrapped box from her pocket and handed it to me.

"This is from Ranger, too," she said quietly.

I opened the box and gasped. Inside was a set of hair clips, inlaid with beautiful pearls. They looked old, and when I picked them up, a note fell out of the box.

~oOo~

_Stephanie,_

_These were given to my mother by my father on their wedding day, and when he died, she gave them to me to give to my future wife. You're the only woman I've ever even considered giving them to, because you are the only one worthy._

_I love you, Babe. I can't wait to make you my wife._

_Love,  
Carlos_

~oOo~

I handed the note to Lula as my eyes teared up. "Put them in for me?" I whispered, unable to speak in a normal voice.

Setting the note on the counter, she took the clips carefully from me. She pulled up a small bit of hair on both sides of my face and put the clips in to hold them in place. A few curls escaped, framing my cheekbones.

We quickly applied a light coat of makeup, knowing Ranger preferred me more natural-looking than all done up. Then we carefully pulled the dress on over my hips and Lula zipped me up. I slid the shoes on just as there was a soft knock on the door.

"Ladies, you about ready?" Lester's voice called.

"Come in, Les," I said.

Lester walked in and gave a low whistle. "You look beautiful, Steph. Ranger isn't going to know what hit him. Are you gorgeous ladies ready to go?"

I looked at Lula, who nodded.

"We are," I said.

Lula and I grabbed our bags and we walked to the door behind Les. After checking the hall, he led us to the elevator and called the driver. When we got to the front door, the car was waiting.

"To the courthouse," I said happily. I saw a look pass between Lula and Lester that made me ask, "Okay, what's going on, guys?"

"Nothing, Beautiful. Just sit back and relax. We'll be there before you know it," Les assured me.

I decided to just trust him, so I relaxed against the comfortable seat and enjoyed the sights flying by outside the window. Soon, I realized we were headed to the outskirts of the city. I began to wonder where we were going, when we suddenly slowed down and turned off on a side street. There was a sign on the corner that read: Mill Creek Park.

"Les?"

"Steph, Ranger thought you deserved something better than the courthouse, so he arranged for a Justice of the Peace to come here."

"He what? Lula! Did you know about this?"

"I did," she said, looking proud. "He told Tank yesterday, and Tank told me last night. Are you happy?"

"I am," I assured her. "More than I ever thought possible."

"Good, then let's go!"

Lester opened the door and climbed out, and then he held out his hand to help first Lula, and then me, out of the car.

"Lula, you go on and find Tank. Steph, you come with me. I'll take you to where Ranger asked me to have you wait, and then I'll go find him to let him know we're here."

Lula went off in one direction, and Lester led me in another. It was a little semi-enclosed picnic area. There were three walls to block out the wind and a roof to block out the sun and rain.

Before leaving me, Lester took an envelope from his pocket and handed it to me. "You're supposed to read this and give it back to me before I go."

I slid the note out of the envelope and tried not to bite my lip nervously as I read.

~oOo~

_Babe,_

_I hope the surprises so far have been good ones. I'll see you in just a bit. When you hear the music, follow the path that starts behind the area you're in now until you reach me._

_I can't wait to have you as my wife. I love you, Stephanie._

_Love,  
Carlos_

~oOo~

I gave the note back to Les, along with my purse, before giving him a soft kiss on the cheek and a big hug. Shooing him away, I said, "Please go tell him I'm ready to become his wife."

"Two minutes, Steph. Listen for the music and then follow the trail," he said as he scooted away.

Sure enough, two minutes later, I heard Debussy's _Clair de Lune_ filter through the trees. I made my way around the picnic area to find a trail of rose petals leading away to my right. I followed it until I got to a row of hedges taller than my head. Just before I moved around them, Lester stepped out and held up a small bouquet of pink and purple tulips, my favorite flower.

"Carry these with you when you come. Wait until the music changes and then walk around the corner and come get your man." He smirked at me. "Sure you won't run off with me and let me marry you instead?" he joked.

Laughing, I nodded. "I'm sure, but thanks, Les."

"No problem, Beautiful. See you in a bit," he said, and then he was gone.

Not a minute later, the music shifted and I recognized one of my favorite country songs. Neither Ranger nor I were big country fans, but Lester had played the song for us not too long ago and we'd danced to it in Ranger's office. I made my way slowly around the hedges and stopped when I got to the archway.

Seated on both sides of a short aisle was everyone from Trenton I cared about and some people I didn't know. They had mocha-latte skin that reminded me of—

_Omigod! That's Ranger's family!_

I looked around and saw my mom, grandma, Val, and Albert. Near them were Mary Lou, Lenny, and Connie. On the other side of the aisle were Lester, Bobby, and all of Ranger's family. Tank and Lula were standing up in the front.

Finally, my eyes came to rest on the most gorgeous man I'd ever laid eyes on. Ranger looked stunning in a navy blue suit. His hair was loose around his shoulders, just the way I liked it. When he smiled at me, I felt every bit of tension and nervousness melt away.

I smiled back and was just about to take a step toward him, when movement off to the side caught my eye. I turned and saw my father standing there, a small grin on his face.

"Daddy?" The word came out whispered, nerves and excitement both playing a part in my crazy, mixed-up emotions.

"Surprise," he said softly. "I hope this is okay, pumpkin. I wanted to walk you down the aisle since we were here anyway..."

I nodded, swallowing back tears, and allowed him to kiss my cheek before offering me his arm. With a nervous smile, we slowly advanced toward Ranger and the others.

~oOo~

Most of the ceremony passed in a blur until the Justice of the Peace got to the vows. Ranger and I had chosen to write them ourselves, taking the same set and adding our own details, and we'd decided that I would go first.

"Carlos, I take you to be my lawfully wedded husband. Before these witnesses, I vow to love you and care for you as long as we both shall live. I take you, with all of your faults, such as your horrible phone manners and detestable eating habits—" I paused as all our friends laughed "—and strengths, like your amazing capacity to love and support me, no matter what. I will help you when you need help and will turn to you when I need yours. Yes, even if it includes a safe house." There was more laughter from the peanut gallery. "I choose you as the person with whom I will spend my life."

He smiled softly at me, cleared his throat, and began. "Stephanie, I take you to be my lawfully wedded wife. Before these witnesses, I vow to love you and care for you as long as we both shall live. I take you, with all of your faults—donuts, Babe?—" he chuckled along with the entire group "—and strengths, including your heart, your courage, and your beautiful spirit. I will help you when you need help and will turn to you when I need yours. I choose you as the person with whom I will spend my life."

By the time he finished, tears were running silently down my cheeks, and even he was misty-eyed.

As soon as Ranger was told he could kiss the bride, I was wrapped up solidly in his arms and then he was stealing my breath in a kiss so full of love and passion that my toes were curling. All too soon, the cat calls and claps reminded us we had an audience and we pulled away from each other. He didn't let me go, though; instead, he just turned me around so I was in his arms and facing the crowd.

"Thank you all for being here on such short notice. This is the way Stephanie and I both wanted our wedding to be, and I—" he looked down at me with a question in his eyes until he saw me smile and nod "—and _we_ are so glad you're here to share it with us. The cars are parked that way," he continued, pointing to the left, "so if you would all join us in those, we'll head to dinner before Steph and I leave for our honeymoon."

As soon as everyone began to move toward the cars, I looked up at Ranger. "How in the world did you do this?" I asked him quietly.

He smiled down at me. "I had the private plane I use fly your family and friends up last night. My family all flew in last night, as well. I had your dad make the arrangements without telling your mom the specifics until they were on the plane. He promised to keep her from sharing it with the gossip mill before we could make the announcement ourselves."

I wrapped my arms around him. "Thank you for the beautiful clothes and the hair clips, Carlos. They're all amazing."

"They're nowhere near as beautiful or amazing as you are, Babe."

Just then, I noticed Lula and Tank standing next to a stranger with a camera around his neck. "Pictures?" I asked happily.

"Pictures," Ranger said, smiling.

The four of us, along with the Justice of the Peace, spent thirty minutes taking pictures before Ranger hustled us to the limo. He wouldn't tell me where we were going, so I put my head back and relaxed, enjoying the ride.

I sat quietly, holding Ranger's hand, until we finally stopped in front of Peter Luger's Steakhouse. I looked at Ranger and grinned. "You've been promising me for years now that you would bring me here," I said happily.

"I'm just sorry it wasn't sooner. We're here now, though, celebrating the most magical day of our lives. I love you, _mi esposa._ My wife."

"I love you, too, my husband."

We grinned goofily at each other and then he helped me out of the limo ahead of Lula and Tank.

I was worried the interrogation would begin once I was inside, but as we made our way around the large room filled with all the people we cared about, I realized my fears were unfounded. No one, not even my mother, had a single negative word to say about how we'd chosen to get married.

"Mom, Dad, Grandma. Thank you so much for coming and surprising me," I said, giving them each a hug.

My dad shook Ranger's hand and gave me a tight squeeze and a gentle kiss on the cheek. "You did good, kiddo. Ranger's a lucky man. I'm so proud of you." He turned to Ranger. "Take care of my little girl or I'll hunt you down."

Ranger nodded and smiled down at me.

"Grandma, how'd you like the plane ride?" I asked, stepping past my mother. "Isn't it fantastic?"

"It was grand, Stephanie! Your young man with the impressive package sure knows how to treat a lady. You watch out or I'm liable to steal him out from under you!" She cackled at herself.

When I looked up at Ranger, I had a hard time not laughing myself. The look on his face was absolutely priceless.

"Babe," he said, grimacing into my hair.

I stood on my tiptoes to brush my lips across his ear and whispered, "No worries, Batman. I'll protect you from the big, bad granny."

Finally, I turned to my mother. "Mom, you look beautiful," I said. "I'm glad you came."

She took my hands and looked at the ring, and then my dress and shoes, all the way up to my hair. "Stephanie Michelle Plum, I mean Manoso, you are truly gorgeous today. I'm glad Carlos called and invited us. I understand why you felt the need to do it this way. Today was you. It wasn't the 'Burg, it wasn't Joe, and it certainly wasn't me. That made it all the more special."

As she hugged me, she got tears in her eyes before turning to Ranger. "Thank you," she whispered.

He carefully wrapped his arms around us both and simply said, "You're welcome. Thank you for coming and making this an even more special day for Steph."

We got hugs and kisses from my sister and Albert, Mare and Lenny, and Connie before continuing our way around the room.

First, we met up with the guys and Lula and I hugged them all. "I'm glad you guys could all be here. Tank and Lula, thank you for standing up for us. You're both extremely special people, and you made yesterday's sightseeing and shopping even more fun."

Lester gave me a big grin as I moved to face him. "Les, you're a sweetheart. Thank you for coming up to spend yesterday with us."

I turned to Bobby. "You know the other guys are going to be jealous you got time off to come up, right? We're glad you did, though! It wouldn't have been the same without you."

Ranger and the guys all exchanged their weird Army handshake, and then we headed to the next table.

I stopped him. "Carlos, are you sure your family's going to like me? Your mom isn't going to hate me because I married her baby without meeting her first, is she?"

He laughed. "No, Babe. They'll all love you. Come on, I'm hungry. Let's say hello so we can sit down and eat."

He led me over to the table full of his family. "Mama, _Abuela._ This is Stephanie, my beautiful bride. Stephanie, my mother, Maria, and grandmother, Rosa."

"Stephanie, it's so good to finally meet you," Maria said, engulfing me in a big hug. She swatted at Ranger's shoulder. "We've heard about you for years from Carlos and our other boys," she said, looking over at Tank, Lester, and Bobby. "I'm so glad we could all come up to see how beautiful you look on this wonderful day."

"Thank you, Maria. I'm glad to finally meet you, as well!"

Ranger's grandmother smiled and said quite a bit in Spanish. I understood Carlos and the words for father and grandfather, but it wasn't until Ranger bent his head to whisper the translation from Spanish to English in my ear that I knew what she'd said.

"Stephanie, thank you so much for making my Carlos smile so often. He has been such a loner the last few years, and we were afraid he would never find someone to make him as happy as we knew he deserved. His father and grandfather would be proud of his choice, as his mother and I are."

When they were finished, I gave her a gentle hug and said, "Thank you, Grandma Rosa."

Making our way around the table, Ranger introduced me to Carmella and Ramon, Celia, Andres, and Marisa. Finally, he introduced me to his sister-in-law, Paloma.

"Juan is currently on assignment overseas and couldn't get here in time," she explained, "but he said to please give you a hug from him and to tell you how happy he is that Carlos has found someone to share his life with."

"Thank you so much for coming," I told her. "I know how hard it is when they're gone. Will he be home soon?"

"He'll be gone another three weeks, but then he should be home for at least a year. We're so excited. We found out last week that I'm two months pregnant, so he should be here for the rest of the pregnancy and the delivery, and then he'll get to meet the baby before he possibly gets sent back overseas."

I hugged her again. "Congratulations! You both must be so excited," I said. "Please, tell him thank you and that I can't wait to meet him."

Ranger tugged at my hand and led me back to the table with the RangeMan guys, Lula, and Connie. We spent the next three hours eating, drinking, and enjoying the company of everyone in the room. By the end of the time together, my parents and grandma had moved to sit with Maria and Rosa, while the rest of Ranger's family had moved over to sit among the other tables, talking with us, with my friends and family, and with the RangeMan crew.

Finally, Ranger stood up and pulled me with him, wrapping his arms around me from behind.

"Thank you all again for coming. We love each and every one of you dearly and the day wouldn't have been nearly as special without you here. The time has come for me to whisk my bride away to someplace with a bit more privacy. So go back to the hotel, relax a while, and remember, your flights back are due out late tomorrow morning. For those of you heading back to Trenton, please remember we would like to share this news ourselves when we get back next weekend."

I squealed as he picked me up in his arms, and then I blew everyone a kiss and yelled thank you as he whisked me out of the restaurant to the waiting limo.

"Carlos! Put me down!" I giggled.

"No way, Babe. Not until I absolutely have to."

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"To a little place a friend of mine is letting me borrow in upstate New York. Only a couple of hours from here. Is that okay?" he asked, sounding worried.

"It's perfect, thank you," I whispered. "Thank you for making this the absolute perfect day."

"You're welcome, Babe. I love you, _querida._"

"I love you, too." My grin was so big, I was sure it was cheesy, but I was so happy at the moment that I didn't care.

Settling back in the seat, I relaxed, knowing that wherever we were going, Ranger was with me, and that was what mattered.


	18. Chapter 18: The Honeymoon

_Warning for lemony goodness._

~oOo~

**Chapter 18: The Honeymoon  
Stephanie's POV**

We spent the next two and a half hours in a comfortable silence. Ranger had rented us a small SUV for the honeymoon so we didn't have to rely on a driver. He'd plugged in my MP3 player and all my favorite songs were playing quietly in the background as I watched the city fade away and the picture outside the vehicle turn rustic.

Reds, oranges, yellows, and greens were everywhere outdoors. The trees and grass certainly, but even the buildings began to look like Mother Nature had taken a paintbrush to them. Deep red bricks, old worn wood, discolored stones. Everything was so beautiful and peaceful-looking.

Ranger turned off the highway onto a blacktop road and, after a few miles, turned again onto a dirt one. Because it was very early fall and still warm out, we didn't need to worry about the dirt road turning into mud.

We traveled about a mile down that road until he finally turned into the driveway of a red farmhouse. There was a field of bright yellow sunflowers to the east, and if there were neighbors, you couldn't see them from the house.

"Ranger, it's gorgeous," I said, looking everywhere. "How long are we staying?"

"If you like it, we'll stay through next Saturday and travel back Saturday evening. Sunday, we can spend making phone calls to those people that don't know about our wedding or just relaxing before work. It's up to you, Babe."

I smiled softly as he stopped me when I tried to get out of the car.

"Wait for me, Steph." He opened his door and walked quickly around to my side. Opening my door, he pulled me out and into his arms. "I'll get the bags in a minute, but for now, I want to carry my wife over the threshold," he said, closing my door with his knee before walking us to the large wraparound porch.

He didn't even set me down. Instead, he used the hand supporting my knees to unlock the door and then carried me inside. Finally, he put me on my feet so he could enter the alarm code before the time ran out.

"I'll be right back," he murmured, kissing me softly before running back out to grab our luggage.

I took the time while Ranger was getting our bags to begin exploring the house. There was a typical farmhouse kitchen, with blues and yellows everywhere. Off the kitchen was a family room, with large, comfortable-looking couches and chairs and a huge TV. I found the downstairs bathroom next and hurried in to do my business. By the time I'd washed my hands and come back out into the hall, Ranger was heading up the stairs, carrying all the luggage.

"Follow me, Babe. Our room's upstairs."

I hurried up the stairs behind him, admiring the view the entire way. When we got to the top, I realized the entire second floor had been converted into one large room. A bathroom was tucked into one of the back corners.

"Woah... This is beautiful!"

There was a huge bed on one side between two giant floor-to-ceiling windows. On another wall was a desk and wooden office chair. The third wall held a fireplace, which anchored a huge couch and a throw rug. The couch was a deep blue that matched the curtains, and the dark red of the bedding complimented them well. The furniture was all a dark wood that contrasted nicely against the light wood floors and soft, pale yellow of the walls.

I was standing by the fireplace, looking at the painting hanging above it, when Ranger wrapped his arms around me from behind. He bent his head down to place a soft kiss on my neck before asking, "Have a good day, Babe?"

I turned in his arms and wrapped mine around his waist. "The best. The wedding was beautiful, even more than I could have dreamed of. Thank you for giving me everything I didn't even realize I wanted."

"I'm glad you liked it, Babe. Thank you for making me the happiest man alive today."

I smiled up at him and said, "Give me a few minutes?"

He nodded.

I grabbed the small bag I'd packed for this moment and headed into the bathroom. Before opening the door, I turned to look at him once more. "This is going to be good," I said, smiling softly.

Giving me his wolf grin, Ranger boasted, "Babe, I don't do good. This is going to be great."

He laughed when I blushed and then shooed me into the bathroom with a shake of his hand.

I couldn't resist gasping when I walked into the huge bathroom. There was a sunken tub that looked big enough for half the RangeMan team, a walk-in, glass-enclosed shower, big enough for several people, and two sinks set in beautiful marble countertops. I set my bag on the counter and walked back to the door.

"Carlos, could you come unzip me please?" I asked him quietly.

He was at the door in seconds and kissed me hungrily as his hands slowly slid the zipper down.

I broke away from the kiss, holding the dress to me so it didn't fall, and told him, "Now go! I'll be out in a minute." I shut the door softly in his face, grinning.

I quickly slid the dress off and laid it across the counter. Then I pulled the ivory silk robe out of my bag and put it on. After taking the sandals off and pulling the hair clips out, I carefully combed the few tangles from my hair. Breathing deeply, excited and nervous for some strange reason, I used a makeup remover cloth to get most of my makeup off, and then I opened the door and walked back into the bedroom.

Ranger had turned the lights down low and had the bed covers turned down. He'd taken off his jacket in the car, so while he was waiting for me in the bathroom, he'd removed his shirt, shoes, and socks, leaving him in just his suit pants. He looked positively yummy as I walked slowly toward him.

"_Dios,_ Steph. You are so beautiful," he said softly as I came up to him.

He wrapped his arms around me, pulled me close to him, and lowered his head to mine. His lips brushed mine lightly before they moved across my cheek and down my jaw to my neck. When he got to the pulse point, he suckled lightly, sending shivers down my spine.

He continued kissing my neck while his hands moved down to untie the sash on my robe. Only then did he move back enough that he could slide the robe off my shoulders and down my arms before tossing it to the couch behind me. His eyes grew dark when he took in the sight of me in just my ivory strapless bra and tiny panties.

He backed up, pulling me with him, until he was sitting on the end of the bed. I was still standing, nestled between his thighs. He brought his hands up and pulled my bra down in the front so my breasts were freed.

The cool air immediately puckered my nipples and I shivered, whimpering when he dipped his head.

His mouth was wet and warm around my nipple as he teased and tasted it. He brought his free hand to pinch and twist the other as I arched my back, wanting as much of my breasts in his mouth and hands as I could get. He bit down gently and pulled his head back, forcing my nipple to stretch until I cried out. His tongue lathed the throbbing point to take away the sting, and I moaned at the sensation. He kissed his way across to give the other just the right attention before finally reaching around and unclasping the bra so he could toss it away.

Ranger moved me back a bit and slid down to the floor on his knees. He began kissing my stomach, stopping at my navel before dipping his tongue in and swirling it around a few times. Moving down my body, he continued kissing past the top of my panties, and when his mouth was right over my center, he sucked in hard. My clit instantly began to throb and there was a rush of wetness soaking through, coating his mouth and my thighs.

He didn't even bother to pull the panties down. Shoving them to the side, he attacked my clit with his mouth and shoved two long fingers deep inside me.

I cried out his name when the dual sensations of his mouth on my clit and his fingers inside me caused my orgasm. Without letting up, he added a third finger and began sucking harder on my clit. When he felt me beginning to tremble again, he scraped his teeth across my clit. I flew over the edge for a second time and nearly collapsed from the intensity of it.

Withdrawing his fingers, he carefully held onto me so I wouldn't fall as he stood. He picked me up and turned to gently set me on the bed. Before I could blink, he had his pants on the floor and was pulling my panties off past my feet.

"Please, Carlos, I want you inside me..."

No more words were needed as he parted my legs and thrust all of his nine inches into me.

I whimpered as he slowly pulled out until just the head was inside me. The whimper turned into a loud cry as he almost slammed back into me. After doing that several times, he fell into a long, slow rhythm of strokes. I wanted more, so I gently pushed his shoulder, indicating that I wanted him to move to his back.

Without pulling out of me, he flipped us over until he was lying on his back and I was riding him. In this position, his hands were free, and he was taking full advantage. He reached up and began gently kneading my breasts, squeezing them, and then pinching the nipples before squeezing my breasts again.

I rocked my hips back and forth and used my legs to raise and lower myself on his hard shaft. It wasn't long before I knew I was ready to come again. Ranger must have felt my tremors because he moved one hand down and began sliding his finger over and around my clit. When he rolled it between his thumb and finger, I couldn't help but clench around him, and suddenly, we were flying over the edge together. I felt his release inside me as my pussy milked every drop from him.

When we could breathe again, he pulled me up to lie beside him on the big bed. He turned on his side and tucked me close, my head resting against his chest, right under his chin. The last thing I heard before slipping deep into sleep was his low, husky voice whispering words of love in Spanish.

"_Te amo, Stephanie. Duerme bien, mi esposa._"

~oOo~

I woke up sometime later to delicious smells coming from the kitchen. I quickly got up and glanced at the clock to find it was nearly seven thirty. I grabbed one of Ranger's shirts from the nearest bag and pulled it on. It hung down to mid-thigh, so I skipped the panties. Rolling the sleeves up to my elbows, I then followed my nose down to the kitchen.

I saw Ranger standing in the middle of the kitchen, wearing nothing but a pair of black silk boxers. Walking up behind him, I slid my arms around his waist, pressing myself tightly to his back.

"How long have you been up?" I asked before releasing him and moving to sit at the breakfast bar.

"Not long, Babe. It's been a long week for both of us," he said, grinning. "How does chicken stir fry sound for dinner?"

"You're cooking? It smells delicious, Ranger!"

"I'm cooking," he confirmed. "Want something to drink?"

"I don't suppose there's a Coke in the fridge, is there?" I asked hopefully.

He walked over and grabbed a can from the shelf, passing it to me.

"Wow, no arguments, even?" I asked.

"Babe, it's our honeymoon. The temples can take a flying leap this week."

I grinned and popped the tab on the drink, taking a long swallow. We talked about plans for the next week as he finished cooking dinner, and then he brought two plates over and sat down beside me.

I took my first bite and moaned aloud. "God, Ranger, this is amazing! Where did you learn to cook?" And how was I now married to the man and I hadn't known until now that he could?

"My mom and grandmother," he said. "They insisted all the kids learn to cook at least two breakfasts, two lunches, and two dinners. I enjoyed it a lot more than my other siblings, so I ended up learning all the ones they taught them, too."

"They certainly taught you well." I grinned, taking another big bite.

We ate the rest of the meal while we talked about how we would handle the rest of the 'Burg when we got home.

"Who else besides the RangeMan guys and Morelli need to be told personally?" he asked.

"I'm not sure there's anyone. We can just have Tank, Les, and Bobby start spilling the beans when we get home, and I'll go over and talk to Joe myself. He and Anna are happy, so I don't think he'll have a problem with it. Since my family and friends already know, everyone else can find out by gossip."

We finished dinner and washed the dishes side-by-side before racing each other back upstairs.

We spent the next week in the house alone, aside from going out to pick up more groceries once. We watched a few movies throughout the week, and Ranger made us breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day. He even got me to help him cook a few times. Most of the week, though, was spent loving each other in bed...or the shower...or the rug in front of the glowing fire.

When Saturday rolled around, I sighed as we were packing up our bags. "I'll miss this place," I told Ranger quietly.

"Babe, I think Billy's putting the house and land up for sale. If you'd like, I can look into it. It would make a nice place to get away from it all for us, don't you think?"

"Ranger! I can't let you spend that much money on something just because I'm going to miss it!"

"I'm going to miss it, too, Steph. This has been one of the best weeks of my life. I would love to be able to come back here whenever we wanted and know it's ours."

I squealed and threw my arms around him. "I'd love that, too!"

He kissed me long and hard before releasing me. "Let's get out of here, Babe. I want to get home and start our lives together."

He led me out of the house, setting the alarm and locking the doors. We got in the SUV and headed back toward the highway, both quiet but happy as we looked forward to the future.


	19. Chapter 19: Six Months Later

_Stephenie Meyer owns the names/nicknames found later in the chapter. Warning for lemony goodness._

~oOo~

**Chapter 19: Six Months Later  
Stephanie's POV**

I walked through the door of the apartment and began pulling off my clothes. It'd been a damn long day of chasing skips and meetings. At least I was only covered in sweat from wearing a heavy coat to protect myself from the snow, rather than being one big mess of food and garbage from head to toe.

_Stupid snow in March_, I thought as I climbed into the steamy shower.

I'd just put my head under the hot water when a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around me. I shrieked, startled, before realizing that the tingling on the back of my neck told me it was my husband.

Ranger's arms tightened around me and he said in a low voice, "Need to be more aware of your surroundings, Babe."

I turned around in his arms and grinned. "Hi! When did you get in here?"

He laughed. "Babe, I was sitting on the couch when you came in and started stripping. I just listened, and when I heard the shower go on, I followed you in."

"Well, I'm glad you could join me," I purred.

The six months since our wedding had done wonders for my self esteem. I was never shy around Ranger anymore, in public and _especially_ in private. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him close enough that my breasts were flattened against his chiseled chest.

"Fuck me, Carlos..."

Those three words were all it took. He picked me up, and when I wrapped my legs around his waist, he pulled me down as his hips thrust up, completely sheathing his cock inside me.

"_Dios,_ Stephanie!" His voice shook as he entered me.

I braced my hands on the wall behind my head, the cool tiles of the shower slick behind my back. I felt him spread his legs more, and then with one hand, he reached behind him and unhooked my legs from his waist. He draped my legs across his thighs before spreading his legs even farther. With one hand pressed against my lower back and the other cupping my ass for support, he was free to thrust as hard into me as he wanted.

When his head fell forward, he captured my nipple between his lips. His tongue and teeth worked together to lick and nip at me, making it hard before he moved to the other. When he bit down with more force, I had my first orgasm. Clenching around his cock, I cried out his name.

He continued to pound in and out of me, the hot water only adding to our arousal as it fell on our bodies, running down to where we were joined. My hands left the wall, moving to grip his shoulders, and I pulled him to me. I moved my mouth to the joint of his neck and shoulder and kissed and licked his damp skin until I felt myself beginning to tense up.

"Oh, God... I need..."

"I know what you need, Babe." Ranger sped up his thrusts as he growled, "Come for me, Stephanie. I want to come with you."

I scraped my teeth lightly against his skin as his hand moved down to my clit and his finger began stroking me. When he rolled it between his thumb and finger, I bit down on his shoulder as I exploded with another orgasm. My pussy squeezed tight around him as he came, coating my walls with his release. He continued rubbing my clit, and I felt myself coming again. I milked his cock for every drop before finally feeling the tremors from my orgasms fading.

We stayed in that position until we caught our breaths, and then Ranger pulled out of me and set me carefully on my feet. We spent ten minutes washing one another before finally turning off the water. Ranger stepped out first, wrapping one towel around his waist before helping me out and wrapping a towel around me.

As we finished drying off and pulling on clothes in the bedroom, my stomach growled—loudly.

"Hungry, Babe?" Ranger asked, smirking. He walked out to the living room to press the intercom button.

"Good evening, dears. Are you ready for dinner?" Ella's sweet voice sounded over the speaker.

"Yes, Ella, thank you."

"It'll be ready in thirty minutes. Let Stephanie know I'll bring dessert."

"Thanks, Ella!" I called out to her.

Ranger laughed and clicked off. "C'mon, Babe. Let's go relax while we wait."

I walked out to the living room and let him pull me toward the couch. Sitting down, he pulled me to his lap. I sat sideways with my head resting on his chest, and then he wrapped his arms around me. I closed my eyes and let my mind wander over the events of the last six months.

Because of my new position at RangeMan, we'd picked up at least three new clients each month. Business had never been better. Ranger had hired more help. Carlisle, Edward, Jasper, and Emmett—or Doc, Eddie, Jazz, and Bear as they were called—fit in well with the rest of the crew and were a great addition to the RangeMan team.

I was taking business courses at the community college two nights a week, and we spent most weekends at the house in Point Pleasant we'd bought shortly after our wedding. We tried to make it up to our new farmhouse in New York once a month, too. Ranger had surprised me for our one-month anniversary with a trip back to where we'd spent our honeymoon, and when we got there, he'd presented the deed to the house with keys of my very own.

Not everything had changed, though. I'd had two stalkers in the last six months. Apparently, not even being Ranger's wife kept the creeps away. Two skips had also blown up two more of my cars. One had actually put Lester in the hospital, when he'd gotten injured making sure I was okay. In spite of all the craziness, I'd never once doubted Ranger's love for me.

It'd been the best six months of my life. My mother was happy with my life, and the 'Burg had finally found other people more interesting than they found me.

My musings were interrupted by the ringing of my phone. I picked it up from the coffee table and looked at the caller ID.

"Hey, Lula. What's up?"

"Stephanie!" she shouted. "Guess what?"

I'd never heard her that excited.

She didn't even give me a chance to answer. "We haven't told anyone else yet, and Tank wants to tell Ranger himself, so absolutely no one is to know about it. Not. A. Soul. Especially not Ranger or all those fine-looking Merry Men you have over there."

I stayed quiet, waiting for the big news.

She didn't disappoint. Seconds later, she cried happily, "I'm getting married!"


	20. Chapter 20: Five Years Later

**Chapter 20: Five Years Later  
Stephanie's POV**

"Auntie Steph!" I heard a little voice cry seconds before a skinny pair of arms wrapped themselves around my leg. I looked down into the face of Torianna Morelli, Joe's three-year-old daughter. I smiled and bent down to wrap my arms around her. Looking up, I saw Anna, Joe's wife of four years, walking toward us.

"Hi, Anna," I greeted her. "Where are Joe and the baby?"

"Hey, Steph. Joe stayed home with Christy so Tori and I could come get a gift for his birthday," she answered.

"Oh, hey, that's what I'm doing, too!"

"Are you and Ranger going to make it to his party on Saturday?" she asked.

"I think so," I said. "Lula and Tank wanted us to watch Jimmy for them while they go out, but that isn't until Saturday evening, so we should be okay for the party in the afternoon."

"Great, we'll see you then." She smiled warmly at me. "Tori, tell Aunt Steph bye so we can go find Daddy a birthday present."

"Bye, Auntie Steph!" She gave me a wet kiss on the cheek before grabbing her mother's hand and toddling off.

I waved and watched them go, amazed that even after five years of being married to the most wonderful man in the world, I still felt no tug at my heartstrings for one of those of my own.

As I walked to the car to go to the next store on my list, I thought about that. My unwillingness to have children was my mother's only sore spot with my life. She was finally coming to terms that I was happy with my life and didn't feel the need to add children to it. I was content with being Aunt Stephanie to Joe and Anna's two girls, Tank and Lula's little boy, and Mary Lou's kids, in addition to my own and Ranger's nieces and nephews.

Joe and Anna had gotten married about a year after Ranger and I. Even to this day, Joe swears his first little girl, Tori, could be mine. She's quite the risk taker, although they haven't found her on the roof of the garage...yet. Thankfully, his one-year-old, Christy, is turning out to be a quiet, peaceful little girl, much more interested in playing with dolls than jumping off furniture or roofs.

Tank and Lula had gotten married shortly after Joe and Anna, and they'd had Jimmy after trying for a couple of years. Now, two years later, they'd just recently found out they were having baby number two and were over the moon about it.

I continued driving to Best Buy while I thought about the rest of the guys on the RangeMan team. I had been thrilled when Les had hit it off with one of Lula's cousin's friends at their wedding. He and Maddy had been dating ever since, and if the smile he'd been unable to erase from his face for the last week was any indication, I had a feeling he was going to be proposing any day now.

Bobby and his girlfriend, Carly, were still dating, although I knew neither of them were eager to marry anytime soon. Most of the other guys on the team hadn't changed much at all in the last five years. There were new guys, of course, but we never hired anyone that I had any doubts about their ability to fit in with the rest of the group.

My mood sobered when I thought about some of the low points of the last few years. Abuela Rosa, Ranger's grandmother, had passed away two years ago, and Val had been diagnosed with breast cancer shortly after my wedding. She was now very close to the five-year cancer free mark and was doing well. It'd taken her a long time to get used to having had a double mastectomy done. When she and Albert had baby Shawn two years later, she realized it had worked out for the best and had come to terms with it.

Then last year, Hector had been shot and killed during a takedown. It'd been extremely hard because everyone in the company knew and respected Hector, and it'd taken us all a long time to become whole again...but we had, because we knew it was what he would've wanted.

My phone rang, pulling me from my sad memories.

"Hi, Ranger," I said when I recognized the Batman ringtone.

"Babe," he answered, chuckling. "Where are you?"

"About to hit Best Buy to look for the GPS for Joe's birthday. You?"

"Was thinking about lunch. Want to meet me at Shorty's in thirty?"

"Yeah, that'll be great. See you then."

I hung up before he could hang up on me. Five years after our marriage, the man still had yet to learn any phone manners, so I liked to turn the tables on him sometimes.

I picked up the GPS Anna had told me Joe had been looking at and headed over to Shorty's. I was stopped at a red light when my door was suddenly wrenched open.

A man, looking crazed and high, stood there pointing a gun at me. "Get out of the car, lady!" he screamed.

I put the car in park and climbed out quickly. He jumped in and took off, tires peeling out on the pavement. I hit the panic button in my pocket and knew Ranger and the guys would get the location from the tracker with it. Before the car got a block away and before I could pull out my cell phone to call the police or Ranger, the idiot carjacker slammed the car into a telephone pole on the side of the road.

I grabbed my gun from my lower back and ran up to it. Pointing it at him, I threw open the door and pulled him out before he could get his hands on his own gun. I dangled handcuffs in my other hand and told him, "The only way out of this is death, and yours can be arranged..."

It took him no time at all to get on his knees for me.

By the time the three black SUVs came screeching around the corner, I had the guy face down on the pavement, arms handcuffed behind his back, and had called the police.

Ranger, Tank, Lester, Eddie, and Cal all hopped out of the vehicles, guns drawn.

"Babe, everything okay here?" Ranger asked as he carefully approached.

"I'm fine, guys. This idiot decided to carjack me at gunpoint while I was stopped back there at the light and then couldn't handle the car and wrecked into the pole. Obviously, I have the situation under control now."

As sirens began approaching, Ranger put his away and tucked mine into the back of my cargoes. He wrapped his arms around me and gave me a soft kiss on the lips. "You never disappoint, Babe."

I grinned, realizing I'd never been happier. I had a wonderful husband, a fun and always interesting job, friends that loved and cared about me, and a family that was finally supporting me unconditionally.

Life was good.

**The End**


End file.
